


Equestria's Ray of Hope

by The_Darker_Fonts



Category: My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic
Genre: Blood and Violence, Death, Gen, Gore, Mild Language, Suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-04-19
Updated: 2020-06-02
Packaged: 2021-03-02 02:00:07
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 10
Words: 48,992
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23727199
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/The_Darker_Fonts/pseuds/The_Darker_Fonts
Summary: A human teen wakes up one morning to find his bedroom replaced by a throne room, and his siblings replaced by technicolored ponies.  Suddenly finding himself torn from his home and family, he must learn to cope in an equine run world.  Meanwhile, a dark force threatens to destroy Equestria, and Twilight must ask herself, has she stopped it, or only slowed the inevitable.
Comments: 2
Kudos: 11





	1. Welcome to Equestria

A Ray of Hope  
By: The_Darker_Fonts  
(Ian Tonks)

Author’s Note  
Friendly Warning: This is a very mature work, so audiences under the age of 13 are not recommended. This was written after the premier of MLP season 9, and does NOT accurately depict what actually happened. BTW, EG does not exist in this universe, as it really shouldn’t be included in the actual show. There are sequences of violence, mild language, and risque jokes and references in this fic, so read at your own discretion. Please enjoy.

-The Author 

Chapter 1  
“Welcome to Equestria”

Raymond groaned as muffled voices flowed through his sleep deprived head. Sunlight streamed through an open window, annoyingly accurate as it tried to pull him awake through shut eyes. He scrunched his face up as he groped for his blankets, which must’ve fallen off at some point during the night, leaving him cold. His searching hand only found his bare leg and boxer covered groin. Jason had probably stolen them sometime in the night. Again.  
He grumbled incoherently to himself, and began rolling over in bed to continue his search for the missing blankets. His alarm hadn’t gone off yet, but it was light outside, so that probably meant he only had some fifteen minutes of sleep left. Five hours of sleep was better than four and a half. Or, three-fourths, he didn’t give a crap, it was too early to be doing math. He rolled to his right a little more, and smacked his head against something hard his groping hands hadn’t found.  
Pain shot through his head as he pressed his hand against the spot, cursing. A series of gasps echoed in his room, and with a start, Raymond realized that he wasn’t alone.  
“Crap”, he muttered as he turned leftward on his bed, where he attempted to roll off onto the rug only a few inches below. From the small murmurs that had followed his crude language, and the sharp “Shh, he’s waking up,” he figured that his siblings had entered the room. Unsurprising; by now they probably had enough invasion of privacy charges to get a life sentence. Hopefully.  
Still, the prospect of another “no cussing” lecture from his mother made him want to personally teach them what a swirly was. He loved his mom and all of that, but she had grown up as a single child, like Raymond’s father. If they had had seven siblings growing up, then he doubted that they would be so hard on his profanity.  
Raymond’s muscles groaned in complaint as he attempted to sit up, arms and legs determined to weigh no less than two tons as he stood. Shouldn’t have taken that extra shift, he thought groggily. Sure, the twelve hours of hauling trash at the dump had resulted in a bountiful check, but that extra work would probably hinder his abilities today. Luckily, Chick-fil-A paid by the hour, not by the bushel.  
He rubbed his eyes one last time to get the sleep out of them, then opened them.  
Two blurry,knee-high figures stood on either side of him. He placed his hand on the wall beside him, before realizing that it wasn’t a wall, but a tall marble column. He scratched his head in confusion. What trick was the demon spawn of his house working on now? It took an embarrassingly long time for him to realize that the column was authentic, and that it wasn’t even his room that he now stood in.  
Looking up, the ceiling was really only a couple feet from his short nose, indicating that either he had experienced a major growth spurt, or the room he stood in was very small. It was adorned with bright depictions that Raymond’s sleep deprived brain couldn’t quite process, but that was fine by him. This was obviously another dream of his.  
He looked back down at the two figures who flanked. They had become more recognizable now that the fog in his eyes had cleared up, taking the shape of a small brown something and a slightly smaller lime green something. They stood on four legs, staring directly at him. Looking closer, Raymond realized they were some kind of equine, too short to be horses. Ponies, he decided. They wore armor that looked more like they were for decorative purposes than for practical means. The spears they carried were no better, the tips so dulled out that Raymond deduced that if he were to throw himself on it, he would come away with a mild bruise.  
With the pesky stream of sunlight that was still demanding he woke up all the way, he was able to see that behind these guards, there were small steps. Tracing those steps with his eyes, he soon found himself staring straight into a pair of violet eyes. This one was different from the others.  
For one, he could immediately tell that she was a female. Something her face structure, and the way her hair was laid out, gave off the impression that she was feminine. She also seemed to be a different variant of pony than the other two, a unicorn with a horn. Alicorn, if his memory of eighth grade Greek mythology served correct.  
She also seemed to be their… empress? It was hard to tell exactly what she was, but easy to see that she was their leader. She sat straight backed on a throne that was adorned with a large purple star at the top, five smaller white stars forming a half circle around their larger cousin. A crown parted her violet mane, splitting it right where a hot pink highlight sprouted. It was golden and three pronged, the same purple star as before dead in the center.  
Looking and the rest of her bodice- he decided it wasn’t weird because this was just another dream- she was purple. Or plum, Raymond really didn’t know enough colors to specify. Her flank bore the same mark as her throne, which really made him start questioning whether she was more deity than dictator. However, despite her imperious visage, she looked more than a little nervous.  
Fine by him, he needed to find a way to get out of here. It was nice and all that this dream was more realistic, but most dreams like this ended in his death, one way or another. In the realm of dreams, Raymond thought he could relate a lot to Kenny sometimes.  
Turning around, he found himself faced with two more guards. One was shorter and leaner than the other, which Raymond attributed to her being feminine. She was peach colored, her male companion a gray unicorn. Both also had spears attached to a little holster on the side.  
Oh, so it's that kind of dream, he mused, mentally preparing himself for some kind of fight. A sudden *Ahem* from behind him made him turn his back on the too-cute-to-be-intimidating guards. He once again found himself making eye contact with the nervous pony in front of him.  
After an awkward moment of silence from the two, the purple pony cleared her throat. “My name is Twilight Sparkle,” she said,” Princess of Friendship, Ruler of Equestria, and bearer of-”  
“Yeah, that’s great and all sweetheart,” Raymond interrupted, already bored of the creations of his mind and impatient to just get on with it. If he was lucky, he could be done with this dream in a matter of a few minutes, leaving him with time to fall back asleep. “Could you just tell me where I am so we could get on with this.”  
The alicorn looked taken aback for a moment before saying,” Well alright then. You’re in Equestria.”  
“Nice,” he said, turning back to the guards behind him. Beyond them, an incredibly long hallway with a lower ceiling than the room he was in stretched out like a cathedral. There were colored windows that he couldn’t quite see due to the fact that there were marble columns flanking them. However, thanks to the muddled depictions that the sun wrought on the right side of the hallway, he guessed it was sometime in the morning.  
He went to take a step, when Twilight’s voice suddenly called out,” What are you doing? You can’t leave!”  
Her voice wasn’t commanding though, moreso urgent and panicked. Apparently she didn’t like the prospect of him leaving. Raymond didn't know whether to take that as a comforting sign, or a warning. Slowly, he turned back to her.  
“And why is that?”  
“Well...” the pony was looking down now, anxiety forming a crease in her brow. The guards bore silent witness to all of this, though Raymond didn’t miss the way they kept eyeing him.  
“Look, I’m not really even sure why I’m talking to you. I have no idea what kind of crazy sleep deprived dream I stumbled into, but I think I'm gonna wake up now.”  
“You can’t wake up from this.” Twilight almost seemed guilty by saying that, like she was confessing something to him. He narrowed his eyes at her, but she wouldn’t meet his. Something about the way she kept fidgeting put him off. And, like a bomb had been dropped in his mind,the realism suddenly made sense.  
“This isn’t a dream, is it,” Raymond asked, dreading the answer. “I mean, that’s why the column hurt. That’s why this is all so real.”  
Twilight nodded. Raymond felt himself growing frantic. This wasn’t real. It couldn’t be. He had to still be back on Earth, right? Back on Earth… Relief flooded him as he realized what was going on. But deep down, he knew the relief was hollow. Still, he had to at least give it a shot.  
“I’m comatose, completely unconscious,” he said, more to himself than any one in particular. “My brain’s making up excuses for the weird stuff going on in real life. I’m probably just lying in a hospital bed right now, family gathered around me, doctors telling them I’ll be awake any time now.”  
Twilight muttered a small, shy “No”, head downturned in shame. Raymond began to panic again, his brain racing for logical excuses to whatever the hell was going on. He began pacing the circular chamber, hand running his hand through his hair, eyes now to the floor.  
“I know,” he said, his voice sounding slightly unhinged. “I’ve gone schizophrenic like Mags, and am having an attack. I’m talking to myself, accidently hurting myself and coming up with excuses to keep up the illusion. Mags says that sometimes she realizes she’s having an episode, so that must be what’s going on right now.”  
Panting, he glanced at the alicorn for confirmation, but didn’t receive it. He felt his jaw beginning to quiver as dozens of unrealistic possibilities richoted inside his skull. Apprehension and manic desire for the impossible concept that this “Twilight Sparkle” was pushing as real to be proven false filled his chest, making it feel like it was trying to detach itself from Raymond’s body. The air seemed to be going thin, the oxygen pulled from it, suffocating him as he tried to breath.  
“What are you saying then, Princess,” he finally was able to ask. He had attempted to say it calmly, but it came out as cold and unhinged, echoing slightly in the chamber. The alicorn somehow was able to duck her head further in embarrassment, pushing back against her throne, into a position not unsimilar to a dog being scolded. Her tail tucked around her front, displaying the same color scheme as her... he guessed mane was the proper thing to call it.  
“I, um, I guess that I’m suggesting, I mean saying, that t-this is… real?” Her answer came out as a question, as if testing to see what Raymond’s reaction to such a proposition was.  
“And how is that.”  
“I- um, well I, brought you here.”  
A sort of calmness settled over Raymond. So she had accidentally brought him here, to this Equestria. It actually kinda made sense now that he took a deep breath and thought about it. Twilight seemed to be genuinely embarrassed about his being here, and he guessed that could be attributed to an experiment gone wrong of some sorts. He let the breath out, letting the motion flow into a comforting smile as he looked back at the humiliated purple pony.  
“It’s all right,” he told her.” I think I finally understand what’s going on here.” Twilight looked up at him in confusion, a frown on her face. “You were just messing around with some magic or other pony crap and happened to teleport me from my home. All you have to do is simply reverse the spell and *BAM*, I’ll be back in Pittsburg. And don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone about this. Prob’ly just get sent to some mental facility if I did.”  
The alicorn only cringed at his words, chewing her lip frantically. “I didn’t bring you here on accident Raymond,” she muttered. A chill passed through Raymond’s body. He’d never told her his name. What in the heavens above was going on here? He shuffled a little, anger rising once again.  
“Well, if this wasn’t accidental, congratulations on completing your experiment. You’ve successfully transported- gah, teleported- a human from Earth to this place. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’d like to go back home now. I still have a life there to attend to, and sleep is a major part of it.”  
“You can’t go back,” she whispered, quietly enough that Raymond could barely hear it.  
“What?” The single question echoed in the room, filling the room with the same tension that he felt building up in his chest. It was a culmination of anger and confusion, curling up over his heart and preparing to lash out like a snake. Indeed, some of the current thoughts that were running circles in Raymond’s mind held the same deadly toxicity as a snake's venom. “Why not? You brought me here, so why can't you just put me back where I’m supposed to be?”  
The guards, sensing the building tension in Raymond, had begun closing a circle around him. A slight clinking from behind told him that the two guards ponies at his backside had completed the encirclement. This effectively cut him off from both an exit and the Princess.  
The pony now dared to look him in his narrowed eyes as she said,”Because where you’re supposed to be doesn’t exist anymore.”  
In that moment, Raymond understood why the guards had stepped directly in front of their mistress. He felt his confusion and anger spike, and for a second, Raymond felt like reaching out and wringing her neck whilst demanding what she meant. Instead, taking a deep breath to once again calm himself, he asked,”What do you mean?”  
The voice that asked the question didn’t seem to be Raymond’s. No, it was so cold, so callous, so enraged, that it made Raymond himself shiver. Is this what really happened when he got mad? The voice also gave the distinctive ring of unhingement, and he could definitely feel that familiar emotion taking on him. Twilight had looked down when he had asked the question, and refused to meet his eyes as she began to answer.  
“Your dimension, or reality, can’t be reached on this plane of existence. Not anymore, at least,” she began to hasten her speech, as if worried Raymond would interrupt. “When I pulled you off of Earth, I affected the balance between the two realms’ timelines. In order to compensate, it erased you from existence in your home, and anypony from this dimension’s ability to even contact your dimension.  
“It’s like if you were to have a ball tied to your hoof. Your hoof- er, hand- is the universe you’re in, and the ball is another universe, with the string tied around your hand the gateway between the two. You stop the spinning of the ball to hold it for a moment, but have to cut the string to do so. When you're done holding the ball and releasing it back into its swing, it rolls away from you, and you can’t control it anymore because the string’s been cut.”  
She paused, then glanced up at Raymond as she finished her explanation, a small smile that seemed more like a cringe. He simply stared back, not really sure what to make of the pony and her explanation. Slowly, he felt something building in his stomach. It writhed, sliding up his neck and tickling the back of his throat in a strange manner.  
Before he could quite comprehend what it was exactly, it slipped out of the corner of his lips in the form of a chuckle. Soon, that chuckling evolved into unhinged laughter. His sides began to cramp and his eyes teared up, but neither from mirth or sadness. The laughter became hysteric as his voice pitched an octave higher than it should have been. The change in voice only made him laugh harder, the noise echoing off the confines of the throne room and into the hall behind. He found this funnier than the pitching of his voice, and laughed so hard his cramps began to pain him. The three figures in front of him shared disturbed glances with one another as his voice pitched higher, before becoming ragged wheezing.  
“Um, did you break him, Your Majesty,” one of the masculine guards said, his deep, hesitant voice interrupting the unsteady series of wheezes that were still echoing in the chamber.  
“WHAT THE HELL”, Raymond yelled, breaking off his manic laughter and interrupting Twilight’s answer. “YOU’VE KIDNAPPED ME FROM MY OWN HOME, TAKEN ME AWAY FROM MY LIFE, MY FAMILY. DAMN YOU, YOU’VE SENTENCED THEM TO DEATH, YOU KNOW THAT!?!”  
As quickly as he could- he was slightly dizzy from the laughing and yelling- he turned and ran for the hall. The guards ponies behind them held up their spears in an attempt to stop him, but Raymond would have none of that. He reached out, grabbing the spears shaft just under the head, and lifted them off the ground. They were rather heavy, even the smaller one, due to their armor and equine structure, but years of work at the dump, not to mention wrangling seven younger “siblings”, had left him with large, lean biceps. He tossed the two back into their comrades, causing all four to go to the ground. Looking over his shoulder, he spun a full 360 degrees, snapping a crescent kick that hit all four, knocking them out cold.  
Twilight gave a cry as he turned back to the hall. About thirty meters away lay the doors that surely led out of the throne room. As he ran through the hall, he glanced out of one of the stained glass windows. From beyond it, he could see that the sun wasn’t rising as had thought. Rather, it peeked out from behind a mountain that he realized the building he was in must be attached to. In the distance, he could see that there was forest, and a clearing holding a small assembly of barely discernible buildings.  
“Okay,” Twilight said from behind, her voice betraying her panic. “You're obviously very upset about this whole thing, so how about I give you some time to think about it. Sounds good?” Raymond ignored her. He was so close… “Good!”  
Raymond suddenly felt himself stop mid stride as a strage sparkly aura surrounded his body. He desperately tried to fight through the field, but it seemed to be made from elastic because every time he pushed against it, he was snapped back into place. In his core, he felt something tug on him, and with that, his vision faded as he was whisked away from the strange hall.


	2. The Queer Quintet

The Chapter 2 “The Queer Quintet”

The world around Raymond blobbed and shifted into a heaving mass of glimmering purples, whites, and pinks. Near blinding white sparkles spun around his head in a rapid flow, making him dizzy as his eyes tried to keep up with the energetic balls of light. A feeling had risen to his chest, similar to what Raymond thought dying of a sugar rush felt like. He decided that this kind of feeling was going to be categorized as “meth dream” in his mental archives. Suddenly, like the sea drawing away from the beach, the feeling cleared away, leaving him off-balanced and confused.  
He rubbed his eyes, still seeing purple in the edges of his view, before taking in the scenery around him.  
He stood in the middle of a large field of unbelievably soft grass that was outrageously green. All of the blades seemed to be that exact same height, as well as the exact same width and color. It looked like it was completely weed less, which seemed to be an impossible feat on Mother Nature’s part. Raymond’s own front yard was only a grand total of three hundred twenty square feet, and was about sixty percent weed. Looking behind him, he found that the field only extended a few feet behind him until it reached a forest.  
The forest screamed spooky at him, near literally from the squawks of unidentifiable birds and squeals and wails of unworldly beasts echoed from within its depths, sending a shiver through his body. If this was the same forest he had seen through the stained-glass windows, his plans for escaping into there were all cancelled. The place reeked of unwashed toddler socks that he could smell from where he stood, and a thick, sickly-green haze slowly oozed from it. Vines climbed up and down the gnarled trunks of every tree in his sight and hung off of their sharply angled branches. A small path led directly into the forest, though why any sane person, or pony- he didn’t know, would willingly go in there was beyond him.  
A shadow zipped across his peripheral vision, and he turned to track it with his eyes. He found that the shadow originated not from the ground, but from somewhere up above. He looked up.  
Huge mistake. Raymond found himself blinded by an impossibly bright midmorning sun. “And I thought a phone screen at one in the morning was bright”, he grumbled to himself, forcefully blinking his eyes to counteract his blindness. This was more like getting beamed in the eyes with a thirty kilowatt floodlight.  
Still blinking, his eyes adjusted to the light level, just enough that he could catch a glimpse of something darting around in the sky. He followed the orange and yellow streak as it shot from cloud to cloud. It destroyed each puffy ball of condensation it touched, seemingly trying to clear the sky completely. A slightly larger streak of light gray with a stormcloud trailing behind it met up with its fiery colored companion. The two stopped just long enough for Raymond to discern that they were indeed ponies with wings. Pegasi? Well, if there were unicorns and alicorns, why not? He followed their trail as they once again shot away, their path leading directly in front of the sun.  
“Gah,” Raymond yelled as he was once again blinded. He blinked his eyes furiously, rubbing them with the palms of his hands as they began to water. With how many times this was happening already in this strange world, he figured that he would be blinded on day three. Finally dismissing the image of the Equestrian sun that had burned itself into his eyes, he looked down, finding himself face to face with a rock.  
It was perfectly dimensional, smooth and gray, but also tilted slightly towards the blinding sun. It was almost as tall enough to reach his chest , but still missed the mark by about an inch. Stepping around its rightward side, he could see a distant forest that seemed much more neat. Upon further inspection, however, he could see that it was a well maintained grove of trees with dozens of red dots polka dotting the tree. Apples? Well, ponies had to eat something, and since they were most likely vegetarian, he severely doubted he would see a steak anytime soon.  
Anytime soon…  
Raymond slumped down against the rock, leaning back on its incline, suddenly feeling drained. Something inside of him still was pushing this all as unreal, a dream. He cautiously raised a hand up to where his head was still smarting. The pain spiked once again as he lightly rubbed it, confirming that this was indeed reality. Or at least, another one. He still couldn’t really tell in this wacky, cartoonish world.  
He felt his frustration mounting as he clenched his fists and started bumping his head against his rock companion. It wasn’t hard enough to hurt, just barely enough to actually feel the contact. Still, it knocked a thought from the depths of his mind, bringing it into his mental spotlight. It was a very blatant thought, slowly making his conscience aware of the depressing realism of his situation. It stopped all his thoughts in their tracks making him focus on that simple, yet painful aspect of his life.  
He didn’t want to admit the terrible truth, because he knew once he said it, he wouldn’t be able to deny it. He pulled his knees up to his bare chest, tucking his between them. The thought kept tearing at him, swirling about like a mental hurricane full of sharp debris. Clamping his jaw shut, he let his bitterness at the situation he was now in flow through him, poisoning his thoughts. He cursed the pony princess, the whole world he was now unwilfully inhabiting. Anything to keep that terrible truth from coming into light. But slowly, it pushed its way into his mouth, tickling the edge of his tongue, begging to be released into the world. With a long sigh of weariness, Raymond let the floodgates open.  
“I’m never going to see them again.”  
Mags, Kevin, Ben and Mason, Codey and Casey, and Sammy. Mom and Dad. Even grumpy old Mr. Gerald, the man who ran the dump. He’d become sort of like his own grandpa, rather than some gruff old fart at the workplace. He began to curse the whole situation one last time for good measure, when he suddenly felt something wet and cold drip onto his bare leg.  
He stopped his tirade of obscenities, wondering what was going on. Without looking, he reached out a hand and brushed the wet spot. Another drip landed on his opposite leg. He brushed the cold wet spot away hesitantly. It wasn’t raining, as just a moment ago he’d seen those two pegasi clearing away the last of the clouds. Slowly, he brushed his hands against the sides of his cheeks. They came back wet, which meant-  
He was crying.  
He didn’t feel sad, though he knew all too well that that would come later. Instead, he was angry. Angry at stupid Twilight, at that stupid throne room, at the whole stupid world, or was it dimension. He didn’t even know anymore! Most of all, he was angry at fate, that out of the billion kids on Earth, he was the one who had been pulled away from home. Why couldn't it have been some poor African kid who was starving on the steps of their home? Why not a Chinese laborer, a slave to the corporation and government they worked for?  
However, despite not feeling the cold of sadness, he did feel the burn of anger, and let his tears flow because of it. He wanted to release all of the building anger before he unleashed it on the sturdy rock behind him, as he doubted there was an abundance of hand casts in an equine society. Pulling himself closer to his knees, he began rocking as a sob rose to his mouth. It died on his tongue, however, instead morphing itself into a low, guttural growl resembling that of an agitated Doberman. Tears continued to flow down his legs in a steady river, soaking his boxers.  
He felt another sob coming and decided to embrace it. Might as well clear away all of his emotional tension now before it ended up hindering him in the future. The sob shook his entire body, jogging loose any remaining doubt that this was still fictional. He silently began counting the sobs as they rocked his body, but gave up after about twenty, his mind too numb from the unguided sorrow that had overtaken him. It soon found direction in the form of his family, his lost home.  
Memories of them flooded his head, each new one shredding away at him a little more with a full body sob. Helping Ben build his metal Apollo 13 model in the early Saturday mornings of summer. Pretending to be the evil tyrant of the land that tried, and always miserably failed, to catch Cody, Casey, and Sammy with his demon hordes. Cheering as Mags received the Distinguished Scholars Award for straight A+’s through her entire middle school career. Even the worst memories tore him to pieces. Hours of lecturing his siblings to get their crap together before Mom and Dad had an anxiety attack. Late nights spent pooling his earnings with his parents’, only to find that it wouldn’t be enough for all of them to eat. Sacrificed meals, hours lost, all to try and keep his parents and siblings alike happy and unassuming. To protect and provide. That had been his one true purpose in his life.  
And now he was gone.  
He realized that it wasn’t so much the fact that his family had been taken away from him that made him want to pound on his faithful rock companion. Rather, it was the fact that he had been taken away from his family that made him beyond pissed. How would they survive without him? He had done enough of the bills and enough high school to know that he made roughly a fifth of his family's total income. It paid for their food and clothing. Now that he was gone, how would they make up the money? Who else would protect Mags during one of her episodes, or calm down the twins when they became overly emotional? Worst of all, with no other mentally stable person in the house, whose testimony would the CPS believe? Would their tearing talons finally rip the family apart?  
The fire in his belly returned, although this time cold as winter. This Twilight hadn’t just sentenced his family to death, but to a hell on Earth like none before. The poisonous thoughts that circled his mind made Raymond feel physically sick, to the point that he almost puked on his bare knees and legs. He swallowed the rising bile in his throat, the bitter, acidic aftertaste leaving him parched.  
He became vaguely aware of the sun warming his back, and briefly considered the prospect that time did indeed still press on. He kept curled in a ball, but leaned back against his now warm, but ever faithful rock. Other thoughts began cycling through his mind, less deep and more practical. What would he eat? So far, all of the creatures he’d seen had been some sort of equine, so there had to be at least a form of grain, and, as evidenced by the distant apple trees, there were also fruits, so it wasn’t hard to believe that there were some kinds of vegetables around too. However, being equine, he doubted that they would have any of the essential meats with them, if any meats at all.  
There was also the problem of attire. None of the ponies he’d seen wore a manner of clothing, since they had fur. That also implied that technically… best not to follow that train of thought. If they didn’t wear any clothes, then there would be no need for a clothing store, which also would mean that Raymond would only be in his boxers in this strange land for quite some time. And, even though Equestria seemed like a peaceful place, he didn’t think his boxers had a lifetime guarantee. That meant being nude around a bunch of technicolored ponies. Raymond felt his face flush. Maybe that creepy forest wasn’t the worst place to be after all.  
Another sob racked his body, as he wasn’t completely done with his breakdown. He sniffed, realizing that he now, along with wet trails from his tears, was covered in sticky snot. He took a deep, calming breath, that decided it wanted to be a sob at the last moment. This, in turn, made him get hiccups, and that was about all of the misfortune that his emotionally wrecked teenage mind could handle. He dissolved, once again, into a blubbering pile of pitiful moans and wails.  
He felt stupid, because he was crying over crying, and over hiccupping, and was hiccupping because he was sobbing because he was crying, and it all ended up being one large mess. It wasn’t long into this second bout of hysteria, however, that he suddenly felt something warm, soft, and solid pressing on his right shoulder. The smallest breeze was passing on his back and arm, somehow calming his near uncontrollable state as it soothingly blew across his exposed left shoulder. The warm, blanked-like object became sentient as he felt something cool and smooth tapping him on the back. His sobbing and hiccupping calmed slowly, allowing him to hear feminine “shh”’s and “there there"'s. He looked up at the being on his shoulder, finding it was a pegasus.  
She gave him a comforting smile, rubbing the crick of his shoulder with a hoof, the longest strands of her cream fur tickling him. Her deep, teal eyes sought out his own like a prospector searching for gold. Her wings shared the same cream as her body, the feathers well groomed and tended to. Her mane and tail were a pretty pink, the foremost styled in a way that tried to hide as much of her face as it could without blocking her eyes.  
“There there, Mister Monkey,” she said, her voice somehow sounding more gentle than her actions were. “It doesn’t matter how you look, you’re still a precious part of Equestria to me. I think those pants you’re wearing are lovely, and don’t let anypony else tell you otherwise. Just look on the bright side: none of your monkey counterparts are as unique as you!”  
“What,” Raymond asked after a moment of silence, quirking his eyebrow in confusion at the buttercream pony. She yelped in surprise, launching into the air as if she’d been shocked.  
“Y-y-you can t-talk,” she exclaimed, raising her forelegs to her mouth. Heaven only knew how cute her stuttering and larger than life eyes made the pony, and Raymond had to resist the urge to reach up and pat her on the head. “I’ve been able to talk to animals before, but they’ve never responded in Ponish! W-why, I didn’t even think monkeys could even talk at all, b-but maybe I was wrong?”  
Her stammered statement ended in a question, so Raymond decided to answer it.  
“Well, I’m not a monkey,” he reassured the nervous pegasus, an amused smile spreading on his face. Oh, gosh, she was just too cute while she was trying to understand what was going on. Raymond felt his mood lifting even now, before they’d started an actual conversation.  
“T-that makes sense,” she said, tapping a hoof on her cheek in contemplation. “I didn’t think there were any monkeys in the Everfree Forest. Maybe you’re a gorilla, then?” Raymond shook his head. “Or maybe an ape?”  
“Nope,” he said flatly. The pegasus continued to tap her cheek before finally giving up.  
“I-I’m sorry,” she needlessly apologized, looking embarrassed. A red blush peeked out from behind her short pink facial hair. “I know you’re some kind of primate because you have fingers and toes, b-but, well- um, I guess I just don’t know w-which kind.”  
“Homo sapien,” he said kindly, giving her a small smile. Internally, he was having a battle over whether or not he should trust the buttercream pegasus who was now hovering before him. While he couldn’t deny how unbearably cute she was, he knew how deadly the cute ones could be. Once again, sibling skills were helpful. Besides, for all he knew the pegasus was a plant from Twilight, here to get him comfortable enough with Equestria so he would do… Gah! He didn’t even know! However, looking back into her eyes, all he saw was kindness and care, which is why he found himself patting the grass beside him. “You can sit down. I know flying must be exhausting, and besides, I only bite on Mondays.”  
The pegasus complied, landing next to him and giving him a smile at his weak attempt at humor, but followed through with it with a quip of her own. “Well then, I guess I’m safe until tomorrow.” Raymond chuckled at the joke, but filed away the information about the date. He looked down at the pegasus. Even when he was sitting, she only stood neck high. She flapped her wings a couple times after landing before tucking them in and sitting down on her back haunches, facing him.  
“So,” she began slowly, “can you tell me why I’ve never heard of these, um, ‘homo sapiens’ before?”  
“Well,” he said, thinking for a moment, “probably because we don’t walk around calling ourselves homo sapiens. We have a much more common name. Does the word ‘human’ ring any bells?”  
“N-no, I can’t say that it does,” she said apologetically. Raymond felt his spirits drop. He had figured that he might be the only human in this land, based on the relative awkwardness of Twilight and the obliviousness of this pegasus, but this conformation crushed him more than he was willing to admit. The pony must have seen this, because she reached out a foreleg and patted his bare arm with it, giving him a comforting smile. Whoever she was, she had mastered that ability, because he instantly felt better. He gave her an inquisitive quirk of the eyebrow. He knew all of the motivation behind the movement, he just really didn’t know why. He was a complete stranger, and quite possibly a danger to her, but she didn’t even seem to have thought about this thought.  
“Why?”  
“Hm?”  
Raymond hadn’t realized he had spoken out loud, but decided to follow through with the questions on his mind. “Why are you being so kind to me? We’ve barely met, and don’t even know each other’s names, but you’re treating me like we’ve been lifelong friends.”  
The buttercream pony seemed confused at the question, like he’d just asked her why the sky was blue. “Well, I guess I just heard somepony in need, and went to help in the best way I could.”  
“Okay, but I could have been faking it or just really mad and been a danger to you,” he objected.  
“Oh,” she said, as if the thought had just struck her. However, she just looked up at him and said, "Well, you’ve been nothing but a sweetheart so far, and I don’t think you would ever intentionally hurt anypony. Besides, I personally have a strong belief that if everypony was just a tad bit kinder, the world would go around a lot quicker than it does, and if I want that ideal to become a reality, then I need to follow through with it.” A dreamy expression now covered her face. “I also believe that if you ever want to have a lifelong friend, you need to treat everypony like they are.”  
Raymond was stunned into silence. This pony was much wiser than she let on to being. The pony looked into his eyes and blushed. “I’m sorry for going on such a tangent,” she apologized, “let me introduce myself. My name is-”  
“Fluttershy,” another feminine voice interrupted, before continuing to shout, “look out!”  
Raymond snorted at the comedic timing of the interruption, before looking towards the source of the voice. He stopped his snickering as he saw a blue dot with a rainbow trailing it launching in his direction.  
Crap, he thought, raising a hand to block his face from the oncoming bolt. That was apparently the right call, as he felt a hoof connect with the center of his hand. His eyes had involuntarily closed at the prospect of getting his face pummeled, but he didn’t need to see to toss his attacker over the back of his shoulder. A crash came from behind the rock, followed by a prominent groan of pain.  
Raymond opened his eyes, but before he had time to check on his adversary, a wild whoop filled the air. He turned and saw an orange pony suddenly appear, seemingly out of nowhere, just a few feet to his left. It was only then that he realized that he was on a hill, not in an open field of fresh green grass. The orange pony had a peach mane and tail, with accompanying emerald green eyes. Those eyes were narrowed in concentration, but, surprisingly, not anger. They were, instead, full of excitement as they sized up their opponent. Raymond.  
Another pony followed her- it was now becoming easy to recognize the physical feminine qualities of female ponies- head bowed so that her horn was set to ram into his legs. She sported a pristine white coat that defied logic itself with its pearly cleanliness. A long, curled plum mane trailed behind her.  
The orange pony held a rope in between her teeth, swinging it around in a circular motion that formed a lasso. She lassoed him, tightening it as soon as it fell around his arms, preventing them from moving. Raymond frantically assessed the situation as the pearly white unicorn continued her charge. Going on a whim, he dug his heel into the ground, shooting clumps of dirt at the oncoming pony. As he had “predicted”, the unicorn stumbled back in shock as her white coat was splotched brown with wet clumps of soil. She began to scream indignantly at the dirt that now matted her fur, running backwards, as if to escape the dirt. Instead, she ended up running right over the edge of the hill, her scream cut off as she tumbled away.  
The orange ponies mouth dropped in surprise at her friend’s fall, giving Raymond ample time to escape from the lasso’s constrictive grasp. He attempted to get up, but the time he’d spent curled up made him clumsy. He stumbled back against his faithful rock, trying to see all directions as he heard something whoosh past his head. Looking up, he saw the blue rainbow dot was shooting up into the air. After several hundred feet, it stopped, shooting back down at Raymond. However, before it got too far on its descent, Fluttershy flew between him and it.  
“Waaaait,” she yelled, waving her forelegs up at the oncoming rainbow. Raymond watched as the streak turned slightly to the left, slowing down enough to make out the cyan pegasus that made up the dot. It skidded several times upon landing, finally stopping near the edge of the hill, spraying the unicorn from before.  
“Rainbow Dash,” she said to the cyan pony in a scolding tone, wiping the mud away. Her voice was cultured and clean cut, like something he would expect from nobility. “Have you no shame? Do you have any idea the amount of time it will take to get all of this muck out of hair and mane. Enough time to get pruney, that’s for sure.”  
“Um, Rarity,” the orange pony said. This one’s voice was gruff with a prominent “farmer’s” accent. “Don ’cha think we might have bigger prob’ems than mane maintenance?”  
“Agreed,” she said, eyeing Raymond. “Those pants that thing’s wearing just won’t do now, will they? With those awful burgundy and black stripes, I bet I could play checkers on the thing. Quite frankly, it would be better without.”  
Raymond felt his face flush at the suggestion. Before any of the mares could notice, the pegasus, Rainbow Dash, spoke up. “I think AJ meant the thing itself, not what it's wearin'.” She flapped her wings, flying a few feet into the air. “What is it anyways? A hairless chimp on steroids?”  
Raymond was about to object to being constantly referenced to as “it” and “thing”, but he once again found that Fluttershy had flown in front of his face. He sat back against his rock, trying to get a good look at his pony assailants, but instead found that her long pink tail was blocking his face. He sighed, trying to be content with only having the ability to hear what was going on.  
“He’s not an it, he’s a human,” he heard Fluttershy say furiously, voicing his own thoughts. “He’s very kind and just happens to be having a rough day, which, thanks to you three, has only gotten worse. We were just having a nice chat, when you three came and assaulted him.” Fluttershy stopped her scolding for a moment. “Wait a minute. You three?” She rotated a full three hundred sixty degrees, eyes widening with fear. When she finally faced her friends again, she asked, “Where’s Pinky Pie?”  
Raymond’s brows furrowed together in confusion. What were these names? Twilight Sparkle, Fluttershy, Rainbow Dash, and now Pinkie Pie? This dimension just kept getting weirder and weirder. It took another strange twist when he heard the orange pony mutter a horrified, “Oh no.”  
“Sur-PIES,” an unbelievably high pitched voice yelled directly in his ear, threatening to shatter his sensitive eardrums. He turned to where the ear splitting noise had come from, only to find something silver-gray and shiny directly in his face. With an alarmed yelp, he realized he was now staring down the barrel of a miniature cannon. He turned his head to the left in an attempt to duck away from the deadly artillery piece, but it was too late.  
The cannon boomed, and Raymond flew to the left as something warm, wet and sticky splattered across his face, shoulder, and chest. He groaned disparagingly, though he couldn’t hear anything through the ringing in his ears.  
Great, he thought sarcastically, this, of all things, is how I die. Shot in the head by a cannon in a world of pastel ponies without anyone else to know what happened. The cannonball must’ve clipped my skull pretty good, because I can feel the bits of it mixed with my blood. The cannon also must’ve gotten a piece of my brain, which explains why I can’t feel a damn thing. Although why I can still think rationally is beyond me.  
However, despite not wanting to view the carnage caused by the cannon, Raymond opened his left eye, his right being covered in blood. Pushing himself up just enough that he could see his chest, he found that it wasn’t covered in blood, but instead with pink and brown. He opened his mouth to question the feat, when a sudden pink blur launched into him, shoving something sweet and slimy in his mouth.  
The pink menace pushed him into the ground before reaching up into its mane and pulling out a green cupcake. Raymond gagged as he realized that the thing that had been shoved into his mouth, now identified as a cupcake, had probably originated from those tangled pink curls too. The pink pony raised the cupcake in the air threateningly.  
“Don’t move,” she screeched, “I know how to use this!”  
“PINKIE PIE,” he heard Fluttershy yell angrily, catching the pony off guard. “Get off. Now! Seriously, girls, what is wrong with everypony today? He’s just a new friend, not a threat!”  
“Oopsey,” the pink pony, Pinkie Pie said, looking sheepish as she climbed off his chest. “Sorry Fluttershy.”  
However, before she turned away, she gave him a look that said “Don’t try any BS or I’ll cream your face”. She shoved the cupcake she held into her mouth, chewing noisily as the other ponies formed a half circle around him. He grunted, pushing himself into a sitting position, when suddenly, a strange flash of color on Pinkie’s flank made him pause.  
On it was a strange mark, precisely where Twilight’s had been, but this one was different. Instead of it being the stars, it was three individually colored party balloons. Looking around at the different ponies, he realized that they all also had their own marks as well. The one called “AJ” had three apples, Rarity’s was a bright blue diamond, Rainbow’s was a cloud with a rainbow lightning bolt shooting from it, and Fluttershy’s was three pink butterflies. This made Raymond question, did all ponies have these marks?  
“My, you are a mess,” Rarity said, interrupting his thoughts. Her horn began to glow a blue, the same color as her eyes. After a second, a red and white checkered picnic blanket crested the hill, the same blue hue surrounding it. It floated over to Raymond, then, after indicating he should grab it, he took it from the unicorns magical aura.  
“Take this as my way of apologizing for assaulting you,” Rarity said as he wiped off his shoulder. “It was rude of me and rather presumptuous of me to do it, and I hope you will accept this, though small as it might be.”  
“We’re truly sorry for all this trouble,” AJ apologized, stepping closer. Raymond could now see, with his good eye, that she was wearing a rodeo hat. Typical. “We all honestly thought that ’cha were gonna hurt Fluttershy, as you are a might stranger lookin’ than we down here are used to.” Raymond stood up to wipe his chest off. “Whooee. Yer a tall feller.” Then, hesitantly, she turned to Fluttershy, and asked, not quite in a whisper, “He can understand us, right?”  
Raymond wiped his face off, finally gaining access to his mouth. “I can understand you all right,” he said before Fluttershy could answer for him once again. “And- surprise- I can talk too.”  
He enjoyed a moment of amusement at the mixed reactions the four newcomers gave at the sudden revelation of speech. Rarity’s mouth dropped quicker than a deadweight, stumbling back in shock and nearly falling over the side of the hill again. Rainbow Dash, who was still hovering a few feet away, flapped her wings a bit harder than she must’ve meant to, because she launched several feet higher into the sky. AJ raised a hoof to her hat, pushing it back with wide eyes, mumbling something incoherent under her breath. And Pinkie Pie… well she was so excited about the prospect of him being able to talk that she was literally buzzing with it, a wide grin spreading on her face.  
“You. Can. Talk,” the vibrant pink pony shouted, nearly bursting Raymond’s already ravaged ear drums. The pony’s grin spread to an impossible length as her vibrating increased, giving the impression that she was floating above the ground. The other ponies began to back away from their eccentric friend with wide eyed fear, and Raymond decided to follow suit. However, it was at this moment that his faithful rock betrayed him, blocking his escape and pinning him between it and the hyper pink pony.  
“YOU CAN TALK!!!” Pinkie Pie exploded forward , launching herself back onto his chest, pinning him on the rock. Her fur, still sticky from sitting in the frosting that was on him, spread a new layer of the crème on his exposed skin. “Tell me EVERYTHING! What’s your name? Where are you from? How old are you? How tall are you? Why are you here? Are you moving here? Why do you wear those silly pants? Is it because you don’t have fur? Why don’t you have fur? What’s a human? How can you speak Ponish? Why are you so close to the Everfree? Oo! Oo! Are you on a super duper secret mission from Twilight that you can’t tell anypony about, because you can tell me, and I won’t tell anypony. Pinky Promise!”  
Raymond blinked at the peculiar pony in front of him, trying, and failing, to remember and keep up with her rapid fire questions. The other ponies began giving him quizzical looks, as if, for the first time, realizing just how little they knew about him.  
“Now just hold yer horses, Pinkie Pie,” the orange pony said. “Yer gonna fry the poor- er, feller’s?- brain!”  
“Apple Jack’s right,” Rainbow Dash said, nodding in agreement. “Let's start with simple introductions first. My name’s Rainbow Dash, but you can just call me Rainbow or Dash, doesn’t really matter. What’s yours?”  
“Raymond”, he answered, suddenly feeling slightly nervous. He didn’t know these ponies! What if they were with that Twilight? Then again, what if they weren’t? “You all don’t need to introduce yourselves,” he added in quickly, “I already kinda caught everyone’s name.”  
“But darling,” Rarity protested, “it’s common courtesy. My name is Rarity.” Despite her chatter, Raymond noticed that the pony was furtively trying to wipe away the dirt that spotted her once white fur. Realizing that he still held the large blanket in a tight grip, he turned and walked over to the mare. Folding the blanket to a non frosted side, he began wiping away the muck from his new… were any of these ponies to be considered his friends yet? He’d barely met them, and that was because they had attacked him. Given, it was for a good cause.  
He stepped away from the Rarity, his work done. There were still patches of brown speckling the fur, but at least no clumps hung from her.  
“That was very gentlecoltly of you,” she complimented with a grateful smile, sapphire eyes delving into his own.  
“No,” he corrected, stepping back so that he could view all five of the mares. “That was apology accepted. You five are the kindest ponies I’ve met today.”  
“Yeah, really, really sorry for attacking you with a cake, and then assaulting you with a cupcake, and then threatening you with one,” Pinkie Pie apologized, sitting back on her haunches with a sheepish grin. She raised a hoof to her head, then shrugged her shoulders. “I guess after having so many wacky lookin’ baddies try to take over Equestria, I just sorta assumed that you were the next one.”  
“That’s okay, Pinkie. You know, in my family, we have a saying.” Raymond paused, looking down. “Or, well, had.” He suddenly felt melancholy overtake him. The small spark of happiness he’d felt from conversing with these ponies was washed away in an icy torrent. He frowned at fate’s cruel reminder of just where he was, refusing to stray his gaze towards the equines around him. He felt a single tear escape out of his eye, rolling down his cheek. It dripped off of his chin and continued its path down his bare chest, trailing cold behind it as if trying to spread his sudden depression throughout the rest of his body.  
“Hey Ray”, Pinkie Pie inquired in her seemingly always cheery voice. “Why the looooong face?”  
“Why don’t you go ask your pretty purple pony princess, Pinkie Pie,” he said, voice growing cold. Bitterness had seeped into his voice and poisoned his thoughts, but it wasn’t unwarranted. Still, when he looked up enough to see the pony’s faces, he could see confusion etched into their expressions. They probably hadn’t heard that sort of undertone directed towards their dictator before.  
“Oooooooo, nice alliteration,” a sly voice from behind said. “I’ll have to remember that one for the next time I see Twilight.”  
Raymond turned to find a creature unlike any other he’d seen before standing where his rock had been. The thing had an antler on one side of its horse head, and a weird, wavy blue horn on the other side. Its face also sported white eyebrows and a short white goatee. It had a long brown body, with an eagle claw arm to its left and a lion’s paw arm to its right. A bat wing, and what appeared to be, a pegasus, sprouted from its furry back. A long reptilian like tail that ended in a white, paintbrush-like puff, topped the absurd creature’s appearance off. For a moment, it even seemed to be the only sentient being, so far as he’d met, to be taller than him. He realized, however, that the creature wasn’t standing on its equally mismatched legs, rather, it was floating off the ground entirely.  
The creepiest thing about the newcomer, though, were its eyes. They were pupil less, with only the uneven red dots that were surrounded by a sickening yellow sclera. The creature leered down at him, seeming to grow taller and making Raymond’s 5’ 4’’ dwarf in comparison.  
“Well, well, well,” the creature sneered, bending its neck so its face was unnervingly close to Raymond’s own. “What have we here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, our characters all cross paths. What will the result of our hero and this newcomer's *wink wink* be? How will everyone, er, everypony react to the truth? And why did Twilight bring Ray to Equestria? I may answer it all next chapter. Maybe...
> 
> In all honesty, though, this chapter was a monster to type out. Enjoy!


	3. And then There's Discord

Chapter 3 “And Then There’s Discord”

“My name is Discord,” the creature said courtily. He extended an eagle claw hand and took one of Raymond’s own, shaking it in greeting. “Lord of Chaos, three time tyrant, two times reformed, and Fluttershy’s number one friend! Now that mandatory exposition is done,” it continued, leaning its face even closer in an almost hostile manner, “who exactly are you?’  
“This is Raymond-”  
“Ray,” Rainbow Dash interrupted, putting one hoof above another. “It sounds about twenty percent cooler, in my opinion.” Raymond nodded in agreement. It did sound better.   
“Ray,” Fluttershy corrected, pushing herself between Ray and Discord, once again blocking his view with her buttercream body. He grumbled in annoyance at the tiny pony’s protectiveness as she continued. “He’s our newest friend, and was just about to tell us why he was looking so gloomy.”  
“Oh that’s nice,” Discord said, his voice pitching differently with each word. Ray suppressed a shudder of disgust as the strange beings head slithered around Fluttershy’s bodice like a snake, uneven red eyes staring him down. “I don’t really have the mind for exactly how it is. I care more for what it is.”  
“Well, I could ask the same thing about you, couldn’t I,” Ray retorted, suddenly feeling indignant towards the way the creature kept emphasizing the word it. Old anger, anger he’d thought he’d disposed of, began rising. Why would people talk about him, but not talk to him? A more rational portion of his brain argued that it wasn’t really these pony’s fault, since they’d never interacted with humans before. Still, he felt like they could at least treat him a little more like one of them, and less like a new pet. “However, I’ll answer your question instead. I’m a human. Any other questions can go to Twilight.”  
“Feisty, aren’t we,” Discord responded testily, a small fire growing in his eyes. “I myself am a member of the humble race of the draconequus. A step up from an ignoble, hairless, hornless subspecies of minotaur, if you ask me.”  
“Really,” Ray growled, a small portion of the anger he felt towards Twilight diverting itself to the arrogant obstacle at hand. “That’s a lot of crap coming from a creature that looks like it was hand drawn by a four year old and named by a two year old.”  
A collective gasp came from the ponies that now encircled the pair of arguing strangers. Shock, and no small amount of fear, shown like a rising sun on his new friend’s faces. Fluttershy had backed away from the two at some point in time, sensing the tension rising between them. It was only when he heard her mutter a worried “Oh dear”, that he really began to consider his words. It probably wasn’t the wisest thing to insult someone who was deemed the “Lord of Chaos”.  
Discord, however, seemed to get a kick out of the intended insult. He began to chuckle, raising his lion paw up to his face in an attempt to block his smiling. This was ultimately fruitless, as his chuckles slowly morphed into laughing. Soon enough, he was howling with joy, tears springing to eyes as he clutched his stomach in a full body laugh. Ray raised an eyebrow at the peculiar being in front of him. Was this being entertained by Ray’s mockery of him in a good way, or a very bad way? Discord was now rolling backwards in the air, roaring with the strange sense of humor he possessed, making Raymond very uncomfortable about the prospect of his answer being the more negative option.  
“That,” he exclaimed when his face finally was level with Ray’s own confused one, “was absolutely priceless!” He paused, wiping away a tear, before continuing. “Everypony was like: ‘Oh no, what’s he gonna do?’ And then you were like: ‘Oh no, what did I just say?’ And- and-,” Discord broke off into another fit of hysterical laughter, before flying up to Fluttershy and nudging her softly in the ribs. “My dear Fluttershy, where ever did you find this joker? I can’t say that I’ve laughed like that in moons!”  
“Well”, she began a bit hesitant, “I found him exactly where he’s standing right now. I heard somepony crying while we were having our weekly picnic, so I excused myself to investigate. I found him awfully upset about something, so I decided to try and comfort him. I was about to find out what exactly he was upset about, but then the girls here assaulted him.”  
“Oh I would have loved to see that,” Discord said, turning back to Ray. “How’d you do?”  
“He kicked ahr tails,” Apple Jack answered for him truthfully, shrugging under the combined glares of Rarity and Rainbow Dash. “What? He did! At least, until Pinkie Pie showed up with a darn cake cannon!”  
“Never underestimate the power of bakery,” Pinkie Pie muttered darkly.  
“Anyways,” Fluttershy practically yelled to prevent further interruptions, “we were also finally about to find out why Rayond here was so sad, but then you also came along and picked a fight with him.”  
“I- well, da tfft, I- pfffft, I would never pick a fight with our good old pal Ray,” Discord scoffed indignantly, wrapping his eagle talon arm around Raymond’s shoulder. Ray quirked an eyebrow at the draconequus, which made him pull his arm off Ray’s shoulder. “Besides, I’m reformed, remember?”  
Discord pressed his mismatched hands together in a way that wasn’t far from what it’s like when one was about to pray. A white halo suddenly poofed into existence over the crown of his head, a heavenly white glow emitting from it. However, a single tilt of Fluttershy’s head and slight raise of the eyebrow was all it took to make the mighty “Lord of Chaos’s” facade drop away. Discord sighed, extending his eagle claw once again for a handshake, this time seeming a little more sincere. Only a little.  
“I’m sorry for picking a fight with you,” he mumbled as Raymond took the proffered claw. It felt strangely cool on his hand, like small slats of smooth sandstone being rubbed over his palm. He gave the “repentant” creature a half smile, stepping close enough to pat him on the shoulder.  
“No harm done, really,” Raymond reassured the wild being. “After the day I’ve been having, I needed to blow off some steam. Thanks to our friendly little scuffle, I probably won’t try to take over Equestria in a fit of rage.” He leaned in close enough that only Discord could see his wink. “Probably.”   
Discord’s eyes became alight with amusement as Ray stepped away from him. “I think you and I will get along quite well,” he proclaimed. Everyone (or maybe he should start saying “everypony”) seemed to sigh in relief at the de-escalation of the situation.  
“Ahrighty then,” Apple Jack said, turning everyone’s attention to her. She, however, was only looking directly at Ray. “Now that we’ve all been introduced, couldja please tell us th’ answer to the question we’ve all been wait’n for. Why th’ long face?”  
“You know what they say about the third time right? That i-”  
“Pinkie,” more than one pony shouted in annoyance.  
“Sorryeee. I just can’t help it! It’s so exciting and-” Pinkie Pie was cut off by Apple Jack, who pressed a hoof against the pink pony’s mouth and looked back at Ray expectantly. In fact, they all were now focused solely on him.   
He took a deep breath, suddenly nervous. How could he explain to them what was going on in his own mind, when he could barely comprehend it himself? How was he supposed to tell them he was from a different dimension, dragged here by their very own princess? They obviously were happy here, and he knew that that couldn’t possibly be the case with a tyrant. He wouldn’t be surprised if they actually knew her. And how would they react to him revealing that he hated her, despised her more than…  
His mind blanked. Where was he? His vision returned to him, revealing several concerned looking ponies in front of him. When had he lost that?  
“Raymond, dear,” Rarity said, her voice breaking into his jumbled thoughts, “are you alright?”  
“Y-yeah. Just a- a break in thought,” he managed to stammer out. When had ponies gained the ability to talk? “What were we discussing again?”  
“You were just about to tell us why you were lookin’ so down earlier,” Apple Jack said, giving him a confused look. She looked cute when she was confused. As a matter of fact, they all did (well, maybe not Discord).   
A glowing was now coming from behind Apple Jack. No, it was coming from Apple Jack’s behind, specifically her butt mark.  
“Hey, Apple Jack,” Ray said, his voice slightly slurred. Mankind, this was the worst one he'd had in months. Now he was seeing lights. He tried to control his mouth even as he spoke. “Your Booty Mark’s glowin’.”  
“Mah what,” the orange pony asked in confusion, her brows furrowing in concern. “Raymond, are ya sure yer alright? Yer startin’ ta- Holy hay! Rainbow Dash, yer Cutie Mark’sa glowin’!”  
“Wait, what?” Rainbow Dash bent her neck around to view her own glowing Cutie Mark. So that was what they were called. Everypony shared shouted exclamations of shock as they each viewed their own glowing mark. Ray, meanwhile, shook his head, trying to clear it. It was sharp enough to realize, from the expressions on the five pony’s faces, that this sudden illumination was not an everyday prospect of Equestrian life.  
“You know what this means, girls,” Pinkie Pie questioned, buzzing with so much excitement that it looked like she was now floating off the ground.  
“A friendship problem,” Apple Jack muttered, a confident smile slowly spreading across her freckled face. “We’ve got a friendship problem! And it's calling all’v us!”  
“Awesome,” Rainbow shouted, pumping a hoof into the air, doing several loops in the air.  
Fluttershy, who had settled on the ground sometime during Raymond’s temporary blindness, raised a hoof to her cheek. “My, it’s been so long since this has happened, I forgot that it still potentially could.”  
“I think we all did, darling,” Rarity said. “I, for one, am curious as to the manner of this untimely call.”  
Fluttershy, looked up at Ray. “I believe it might have something to do with our new friend here,” she said. This made everyone stop their various activities, and look once again in Ray’s direction. “I-I mean,” she stuttered, suddenly nervous as Ray’s gaze fell on her. “have you heard his remarks about Twilight? And with his, um, n-no offense, outlandish looks, I mean, you know what I might be suggesting.”  
They all seemed to take a moment of brief consideration. Finally, Discord declared, “Well, why don’t we find out? All aboard for a one way trip to the crystal castle!”  
Ray was about to turn to ask the draconequus what he meant, when he suddenly felt a familiar tug in his stomach. He realized why it felt familiar as he was suddenly whisked away from the hilltop. The world around him changed briefly into a realm of checkered black, dirty orange, and dark violet. Raymond felt like his still fuzzy head was being picked apart and then put back together by the most violent toddler in the world.  
Then, just as suddenly as it had come, it was gone, leaving Ray dizzy and off balanced. He nearly fell to the floor, but managed to catch himself on his knees. His vision returned quicker than it had with Twilight’s teleportation magic, letting him have an amusing look at everypony’s, excluding Discord’s, “I’ve seen into the dimensional rift” faces. It also allowed him to get a good look at his surroundings.  
He seemed to be in a room made up of purple, blue, and cream colored crystals. They made up the doorways, which held gold bordered doors. They seemed to be composed of a different kind of crystal that was green and thin enough to let light in through them. There was a main doorway with large double doors. With a quick look around, he saw that there were seven separate and smaller doorways to other antechambers.   
The crystals formed long veins that climbed the blue stone wall, making the room feel a little like a closed flower. Large windows lit the room, but were also aided by a strange chandelier that hung above the room. It seemed to be organic, based on the rougher look and undefined twists it made. After a moment, his eyes recognized the rough look as some sort of bark, which meant he was staring at a tree that somehow hung over his head. Short trails of multicolored diamonds hung from it, indistinct images that were barely visible from the rug-covered floor moving about in them.   
Ray looked back at everypony and realized suddenly why they had all seemed eye-level. Each of the five ponies sat on a throne with their designated Cutie Marks on it. He stood, supporting himself on a smaller throne that was next to the one Discord sat on. Looking past the creature, he saw a very familiar and hated symbol imprinted on it: Twilight’s Cutie Mark.   
The mark of a devil.  
The thrones all circled around a large table that was topped by a 3D map. It seemed to map at least a part of Equestria, and even though he’d only seen it briefly, he recognized the castle on the mountain at the map’s center. Above it floated the Cutie Marks of the five mares that now sat around it.   
“It’s calling us to Canterlot,” Rainbow Dash asked, raising an eyebrow.   
“Not just to Canterlot,” Rarity began, “but to the castle itself! Fluttershy, it appears that you were correct!” She looked up from the map, towards where Ray stood, investigating the map. “It appears our friend has something that he hasn’t told us about yet,” she accused suspiciously.  
“Ray is on a secret mission from Twilight, isn’t he,” a certain pink pony yelled, making Rainbow Dash slap a hoof over her face in a sort of ponish facepalm.  
“I’m pretty sure that’s not what it means,” she said in annoyance.  
“I think it means that Raymond here hasn’t been completely honest with us,” Apple Jack proposed, giving Ray a pointed stare beneath her hat.  
“Or it means I just haven’t gotten the words out,” he shot back, making the orange pony’s ears drop back in shame. Ray hadn’t noticed how expressive these beings were with their bodies. Pinkie’s tail wagged like an eccentric puppy’s, everypony’s ears angled in different directions to catch all of the sounds, and slight tilts of the head give off different emotions. All things considered, reading pony expressions was exponentially easier than reading a human’s.   
“Now now, everypony,” Fluttershy chastised, “no need to point hoofs. What we need to do is close our mouths and listen to Ray. He’s the only one here who knows what is truly going on.” She gave Ray a kind smile, and Ray swore he could hear Discord growl. “Ray, if you would?”  
Ray paused. Did he, a stranger, tell everyone here what had happened to him, and how Twilight was the one behind his sudden appearance. These ponies, though friendly as they were, probably wouldn’t believe such a prospect. Not so soon after knowing him. They had met, what, all of twenty minutes ago?- if that was even how time worked in this dimension. And if he did tell them, and they didn’t believe him, would he lose the only friends he might’ve made in this world. He couldn’t risk that, even if it meant they wouldn’t trust him completely. However, there might be an easier way about it…   
Finally, he answered. “I think it would be easier to believe if you heard it from Twilight herself, instead of me.” Fluttershy seemed to deflate a little that Ray had avoided the question instead of answering it himself. Still, she simply smiled at him and said, “Well, I guess that means we’ll have to wait for Canterlot.”  
“Ugh,” Rainbow Dash groaned, throwing her hoofs onto her face. “That means we’ll hafta wait until tomorrow!”  
Pinkie Pie tilted her head towards her friend and asked, “Well whaddya mean, Dashie?”  
“What I mean,” she began exasperatedly, “is that the 10:30 train left an hour ago, which means we’ll hafta get onto the 7 o’ clock train. We’ll get there at 8-ish, which is when Twilight starts up the night shift, so we won’t be able to speak to her.”  
“It could be even worse than that, darling,” Rarity suddenly said thoughtfully. “Twilight’s schedule could be filled for the day, which could mean another whole day of waiting.”  
Rainbow Dash groaned at the prospect of having to wait another day, flopping back against the throne in dismay. A small giggle came from the opposite end of the table, making all eyes turn to the huddled form of Fluttershy. She was holding a hoof to her mouth in an attempt to hide a beautiful little smile from her friends. She blushed as the attention turned to her, but held her ground.   
“You girls are all so silly sometimes,” she said to them. “There’s really a very simple answer to our troubles.”  
“Beggin’ yer pardon,” Apple Jack questioned, giving Fluttershy a confused tilt of her head and raising an ear towards her, as if to try to hear her better. “Is somepony gettin’ a bit more self confident?”  
“Well, maybe a little,” Fluttershy admitted, looking calmly towards her friends. “It’s just, you all are making it sound like the train’s the only way to Canterlot.” Calmly, she turned to Discord, who looked like he already knew where all of this was going. “Discord, could you please take us to Canterlot.”  
“An unprecedented favor? You know what that means, my dear,” Discord asked, smirking while raising an eyebrow in her direction.  
Fluttershy returned it with a warm smile. “Yes, I do, and I’m looking forward to it.”  
Ray had to keep himself from gasping out loud as he realized the relationship between the two. Re-analyzing the situation, he saw Rarity looking a little on the paler side, which seemed to be proof enough. Rainbow, who was close enough to be heard making a gagging sound, only reinforced Rarity’s reaction and Ray’s prediction. The other two ponies were simply smiling, though Apple Jack’s looked a tad more sincere than the loopy grin that Pinkie bore. Without thinking, Raymond blurted out a question.  
“Are you two dating?”  
The room itself seemed to deadpan Raymond, and he instantly felt just how awkward of a subject this was for the ponies. Fluttershy began to blush so profusely that he could see it from across the table. Rainbow glared at him, while Pinkie Pie seemed to find this the opportune moment to zip away. Rarity and AJ looked genuinely curious about the actual answer to the question, as if the relationship wasn’t a hundred percent clear to them either. Discord was fidgeting with his tail, much of his previous confidence evaporating at the sudden publicity of his relationship.  
Pinkie zipped back into the room, stopping besides Raymond, the slamming of the chamber doors ending the uneasy silence that had ruled the room. Behind her was the same cannon that she had nearly blown his face off with. He shuddered, but quickly realized that the cake he had absently wiped off him was probably the best chance at food he would have for a while. Whenever they finally arrived back at the castle, he doubted food would be one of the main priorities.  
“Well,” Pinkie said impatiently, lightly stamping a hoof on the ground. “Are you gonna announce it or not?”  
“To the castle,” Discord exclaimed, and before anyone could object, they were pulled away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, our "hero" meets Discord (my personal favorite MLP character). But what is this strange blip in his mind? Who are the people in his past? And how will the Queer Quintet respond to the truth? Maybe you'll find out next chapter. Maybe...


	4. Betrayal

Chapter 4 “Betrayal”

Fluttershy hadn’t been expecting the sudden teleportation. Discord had really surprised her this time, even though she’d been getting used to random teleportations. It wasn’t hard to tell why the act had been so sudden. Why had poor Raymond opened his mouth?  
Oh, but she couldn’t have blamed him, not after what she’d seen in his eyes. Those dark brown eyes, tearful and sorrowful, but not for himself.   
She’d heard somepony crying, but it wasn’t the usual kind that she heard from woodland creatures. She’d grown so used to the constant chatter and hum of her little friends, that when this new noise joined the fray, she couldn’t have excused it. Upon investigating, she had found him.  
Sitting back on a rock, head tucked between its legs, crying up a storm, she’d found him at his worst. Initially, she thought it was an unusual breed of monkey, which would explain why she hadn’t recognized it. But the way it looked, balder than a newborn foal, with only that dirty blonde mane and strange swath of fabric around its loins, prompted her to think it was an outcast. It was incredibly strange to witness such a large, muscular creature broken down as it was. No offense to Harry, but he was more fat than muscle.  
She’d tried to help the creature to the best of her abilities, but it had taken almost five minutes for it to notice her presence. Then, with their short conversation, Fluttershy knew just how harmless the human was. Or so she had thought. She knew that the girls were only trying to do good, but as soon as they had struck, Fluttershy’s initial assessment of Raymond shattered like glass.  
His thinking, so quick that she had had trouble keeping up with it. His movement, fluid, aside from the little tripping stunt, and precise. And then there was the scar.   
Nopony mentioned it, but it was still there. She’d seen each of her friends peek at it at least once, and even Pinkie Pie had seemed slightly disturbed by the white lump of tissue. In her years taking care of animals, Fluttershy had never seen one like it. It was smooth, as if cut with a precise tool or dangerously sharp object. The thought of Ray getting hurt made Fluttershy’s body shiver with disgust as a bloody image of Ray, lying on the ground in a pool of his own blood, crying in pain, invaded her head. Fluttershy shook the image away, letting the first thought that came to mind distract her. Unfortunately, that thought was how conveniently close the scar was to his lightly defined abdominal muscles.  
She tucked her head in embarrassment as her face became flaming red, but this time she actually hoped that it was attributed to the indecent way she had landed. Standing quickly so nopony else would notice, she looked around at her surroundings. Large hall. Check! Tinted windows with vaguely accurate depictions. Check! Flustered looking everypony. Check!   
Fluttershy glanced to her left and saw the double doors leading into the throne room. On either side were two stunned looking guards, decked out in full royal guard attire. They took a moment to process just what had happened, before they both rushed over, spears tranquil. They helped Rarity get off the ground before turning to Discord, giving him a scornful look. Even though it had been four years since his redemption, most ponies were still having trouble accepting Discord.   
Fluttershy sighed. It wasn’t completely Discord’s fault that he’d gone evil. He’d once explained that chaos wasn’t like regular magic. It wanted to be used, to destroy, to create, anything and everything at one moment to the next. Discord’s very sanity had fallen away during his losing fight to stay in control. And in the end, he hadn’t regained all of his shattered mind, much of that due to being imprisoned in stone for eons. The poor creature just needed some love, and she hoped she could give him some on their date… Oh dear. Their date. Fluttershy’s blush, which hadn’t even receded yet, returned in full blazing glory.   
Discord said something, but she was tucked so far back in her mind that she hadn’t heard it correctly. Luckily, the statement hadn’t been made in her general direction, so further embarrassment was avoided. She began to pay attention more closely as Discord produced a sheet of parchment to the stern looking guards. With a sigh, they stepped aside and opened up the chamber doors, revealing another long hall that led to the throne room.  
This one was filled with much older stained glass depictions, such as the one with Princess Celestia and Princess Luna circling each other around a sun/moon hybrid circle. At the far end of the hall stood Twilight's throne, with the little adjustment that made it possible to sit on the right hoof of Twilight. The said pony herself was pacing in front of the throne, tapping her cheek with a foreleg, her muttering barely audible from the doors.  
“‘Ello there, Twilight,” Applejack called, snapping the purple pony out of her nervous prancing.  
“O-o-oh. H-hello girls,” Twilight said as her friends approached. She seemed to shrink after glancing at something behind Fluttershy. Peeking over her shoulder, she nearly gasped in surprise at the glowering figure behind her. Ray stood with an angry glare that wiped away the friendly, soft Ray he’d introduced to her back by the forest.  
“W-what a surprise,” Twilight mumbled, not sounding the slightest bit surprised.  
“Please don’t lie ta us, Twilight,” Applejack asked her. “Yer only gonna make it harder for yourself.”  
Twilight sighed. “Well, I guess he’s already told you what happened,” she said sadly, gesturing towards Ray.  
“Actually darling, Ray wanted you to tell us what happened,” Rarity chimed in. “This whole business seems very fishy in my opinion. A human shows up in our land, and then has some sort of connection with you. It must be a very negative one, given how he's scowling at you like a piece of droppings on his hoof.”  
Twilight actually seemed surprised for a moment, like she hadn’t thought that she would be the one to tell them. She began to chew on her hoof, taking a nervous glance at Raymond and shuddering under his intense glare. Her ears flipped back on her head, her wings clenched against her sides as she ducked away from him. Fluttershy stole another glance behind her and realized just why Twilight looked so afraid.   
He stood, forehead creased in anger as the full force of his glare burned away the last image of a harmless, peaceful Ray in her mind. His arms were still crossed, though now his knuckles were white with how much they were squeezing his biceps. His bare chest rose and fell slowly as he took in deep breaths, as if struggling to keep himself under control. This was only reinforced by the way his jaw was clenched, trying to keep his tongue from releasing the full fury behind it. And then there were his eyes.  
They were little more than narrow slits, but behind them was the full rage of the sun, threatening to burn anypony that angered him. They quivered with the force of the glare, brown irises almost gaining a red tint to them. Those gentle eyes had seen things. Fluttershy saw it now. How could anypony show so many different emotions in the course of minutes? They would need to have had a very bad life. She no longer saw him as 2 dimensional as her friends were. He was very different from anything in this world, or the next, with no one distinguishable attribute.   
“Hey Ray,” Pinkie suddenly asked, voice as earnest as ever. “Got something you want to say?”  
Fluttershy had to resist the urge to cringe at her friend’s sudden question. She loved Pinkie very much, but sometimes the pony could be very, very naive, beyond anypony’s good. Pinkie twisted her head as she stared at the furious form of Ray. The human shook himself for a moment, calming down enough to speak through gritted teeth.  
“There are many things I would like to say,” he growled, giving a barbed glance before sighing deeply and pointing to the door. “I should probably leave you all to talk. You seem to be friends.”  
He turned, walking away, and Discord had the good sense to follow. Everypony watched them go, waiting for the doors to slam close to look back at each other. For a moment there was silence, and even Pinkie seemed to feel the solemnity of the situation, at least enough to stop bouncing around. Twilight looked like she was about to say something, but instead bit her lip. Finally, she asked, “What all do you know?”  
“All we know here is that Ray is awful sad about somethin’, he ain’t from anywhere we’ve been, and he’s somehow connected ta you, Twilight,” Applejack spoke, giving her friend a calm, yet questioning look. “He’s decided to leave the rest for you to tell.”  
“Yeah,” Rainbow Dash reaffirmed, flying around the backside of the group. “He said something about us not going to believe it. Care to enlighten us?”  
“Y-yes, of course,” she said, taking a deep breath. “It started almost a year ago, the day after my coronation. I decided to look into the future to see what challenges I might face, and allow me some time to deliberate on actions towards them. Most of the things were minor; border disputes, weather manipulation, timberwolves, homelessness, friendly wavers, et cetera. But one thing came up that couldn’t be resolved easily, or with friendship.” Twilight’s voice dropped, and her tone became one of fear. “Two years, two months, and thirteen days after my coronation, something… terrible invades Equestria”  
“What,” Fluttershy asked, barely breathing. Why would anyone want to invade Equestria? There wasn’t much here to offer, other than the small abundance of gems. However, that paled in comparison with the dragon’s hoards of goods. There wasn’t much to be had here in natural resources either. That was more in the realm of the Hippogriff’s thing. They weren’t militaristically a threat either, with only police ponies and the Canterlot Royal Guard as protection.  
“Minotaurs,” Twilight said.   
“Did I hear you correct, or did you just stutter,” Rainbow Dash questioned, “because I think I just heard you say minotaurs.”  
“Yeah, Twilight,” Fluttershy said, confused. “Minotaurs aren’t that threatening to Equestria, no offense. I mean, Iron Will was a bully, but nothing like Chrysalis or Tirek.”  
“That’s because he’s a monotaur, not a minotaur,” Twilight explained. “Monotaurs are a subspecies of minotaur that have a more equine subvariant. They generally live solitary lives, which is why there are so few. Some can go their entire lives without seeing another of their kind. They have a more equine mindset, too. Much like us, they mentally can’t take the burden of violence and death too well. And while some of them do participate in wrestling and other physical mischief, they only do it for sport, not for want of violence.  
“These minotaurs though, have no restraints. They glorify bloodshed, relish in the taking of lives. When they come, we won’t be able to fight it. There’s no parlay with them, no negotiation, no surrendering to them. All they want to do is kill. In the end, age, gender, it will all be inconsequential. They will kill, and plunder, and destroy until everypony is dead. And they won’t stop here either.   
They’ll take all lands of Equus, starting with the Crystal Empire and Yaks. The Yaks may be able to put up some resistance, but nothing that will slow the Minotaurs for too long. From there, the Badlands and Mount Aris will fall. The sea ponies may have a chance, but I didn’t look far into their future.”  
“What about the Hippogriff Navy,” Rainbow Dash asked. She had landed now, her eyes narrowed in concentration, staring at the ground and tapping on the bottom of her chin with a hoof.  
“Little more than a glorified scouting and scientific party,” Twilight said. “Besides, they too share a pacifist mindset.”  
“And those spears they have?”  
“Our guards have spears too.”  
“So how does Ray tie into all of this,” Fluttershy questioned. The whole situation was making her head spin. Equestria conquered? War? Death… It shouldn’t happen. There was no way it could happen. Right? “Couldn’t we just use the Elements of Harmony, instead of whatever purpose Ray has?”  
“Don’t you think I haven’t thought about that,” Twilight yelled, then rubbed her forehead with a hoof. “I’m sorry, Fluttershy. Truly, but this whole business is taking quite a toll on me. In truth, I’ve probably been neglecting current duties in order to solve future ones. But no, the Elements won’t work. They are made to make peace through peaceful actions. Turning creatures to stone is so that they can get a chance to rethink their options, and choose friendship over power. But it won’t work for these creatures. They know no mercy.”  
“I’m sorry,” Rarity began. “I know we’re on the topic of Equestria ending, but from what you’re saying about the Elements, Tirek, Chrysalis, and Cozy Glow will all… come back?”  
“Essentially, yes,” Twilight responded. “Haven’t you noticed how every villain we’ve fought has either been redeemed or banished? And any who’ve been previously banished have come back. Discord, Sombra, Chrysalis, they’ve all been banished before and returned. That’s another thing. The Minotaurs will release Chrysalis and the others from imprisonment upon arrival in Canterlot.”  
“Why in the hay would they do that,” Rainbow Dash semi-yelled.  
“Well, if Celestia had made international allegiances with other creatures that we didn’t know about, then it’s not too far of a stretch to guess that Chrysalis or Tirek did the same. I didn’t look far enough ahead to see what would happen then, because at that point everypony was dead.  
“After the vision, I immediately began running through the different possibilities in my head. I spent months trying to decide what I could do against such a force, but slowly realized that nothing in our world could stop it. I asked for assistance from Luna and Celestia, but they told me ‘what isn’t in our world must be brought to our world.’ After another several months of testing and experimenting with Starlight and Sunburst, we finally perfected a spell that allowed me to view other realities.  
“One of the first ones I found was Raymond’s. The dominant species there are the humans. They seem to be a technologically advanced and intelligent race, but have one major misdemeanor. They seem to like to fight.  
“What I mean to say is, the dimension is probably one of the worst I’ve seen. Humans fight wars with each other with terrible weapons, and seem to be bred to kill. They eat animals, destroy forests and other beautiful places, and grow up violently and wildly. Even some of their younger ones seem to have a leniency to destroy something or other.”  
“So you're saying that Ray’s dimension was terrible,” Rainbow Dash once again cut in. “Why choose him then.”  
“Because, in most ways, he was different,” Twilight said. “That, among other things.”  
“What about his family, his friends,” Fluttershy questioned. The sudden revelation of Ray’s origins shook her to the core, leaving her head filled with unanswered questions and jarring thoughts. She had guessed that Ray wasn’t from Equestria, or anywhere nearby, for that matter, but from another dimension? And that awful place he grew up in, well, no wonder why he had such a diverse range of emotions. And what was he, a singular pony, supposed to do in the wake of such a scary and destructive force? Was there any hope left for Equestria? And truly, if Ray had been pulled away from his family and friends, then it was little wonder why he had seemed so devastated when she had found him. The worst part, though, came from Twilight’s silent response. A small shake of the head. He would never see them again.  
Applejack scoffed in shock. “Why that’s gotta be th’ most dishonest-”  
“Unpleasant-”   
“Unfunny-”  
“Unkind-”   
Everypony looked at Rainbow to hear what she might add. Crossing her forelegs midair, she said, “I mean, it isn’t disloyal to anypony, since she’s doin’ what she thinks is best for Equestria.”  
“Thank you, Rainbow Dash,” Twilight said, looking up from the polished marble floor. “I-”  
“That still doesn’t mean this isn’t the least coolest thing anypony has ever done before,” she added, making Twilight’s ears droop.  
“I-I know,” she muttered. “But it was the right thing to do. At least, for Equestria it was. And I know I deserve all of those things you’re saying and thinking, but it needed to happen. For Equestria’s sake, and Raymond’s.”  
Fluttershy cocked her head in confusion. How could any of this be good for Ray? He’d been foalnapped from his home and family, to a world he probably couldn’t even understand.   
“Twilight,” Fluttershy spoke up. Everypony turned to her curiously, and she felt a little bit of her confidence drop. No. no! She would not stutter now. Raising herself confidently, staring her friend straight in the eye, she asked, “Do you believe that this is honestly the only way to save Equestria, whether it’s right or wrong?”  
“Yes,” Twilight answered. For the first time, she lost all of her timidity, raising her head, ears up. “Yes I do.”  
Fluttershy nodded solemnly. “Then I forgive you.”  
“What,” everypony asked simultaneously.  
“I forgive you,” she repeated.  
“But why, Flutters,” Rainbow asked her, flapping down to be in front of her. “After the way she went behind our backs and betrayed us? How could you?”  
“Well, we forgave Discord and Starlight, so why not one of our friends,” Fluttershy responded. “I’m not saying that her not telling us doesn’t hurt, since we are very close friends. However, we’re supposed to represent friendship for all of Equestria, which means we need to represent all aspects of it. Especially the hardest one.”  
Fluttershy stepped forward and gave Twilight a soft hug. Whispering so that nopony else could hear, she said, “I know this must have been really hard on you. Let me help with Ray.”  
Rarity was the next to step forward. “Fluttershy is absolutely correct. I, too, am hurt that you wouldn’t tell your dearest friends about the trials you’re going through, but understand. Some things may seem like too much of a burden to share, but in the future, please tell us. It is why we formed the Council of Friendship.”  
“I know, I know,” she said, rubbing a hoof on the spot under her horn, staring at the ground. It’s just-”  
The chamber doors banged open, making everypony jump, and cutting off Twilight’s excuse. They all turned to find a certain purple teen drake strolling towards them. Even from across the hall, Fluttershy could see the confused dragan’s arms were full of fresh parchment. He also had two saddlebegs worth of ink bottles on either arm.   
“Sorry it took me so long to get back, Twilight,” Spike apologized, crossing the hall as quickly as his legs could. He’d grown two inches taller in the last year, making him neck high for everypony else. “The load you ordered took hours to retrieve, since they hadn’t fully restocked, and was too heavy to fly home.” Then, giving the others a sideways glance, he asked, “What’s everypony doing here? It’s not Thursday.”  
Fluttershy could see a lie on the tip of Twilight’s tongue, but it died with a stern look from Applejack.   
“I did it, Spike,” She muttered.  
“What,” he said, seemingly already knowing what she was talking about. “But you told me we would do it together.”  
“Y-yes, well, I didn’t want you there in case something went wrong.”  
“And did something go wrong?”  
“Well, our newcomer sort of knocked out all four guards, and then tried to break out.”  
“What,” Applejack questioned. “I knew th’ feller was strong, but knockin’ off four of Equestria’s finest? Yeesh, even with all that height on ’im, I doubt it was an easy feat!”  
“Imma hafta challenge him to a race,” Rainbow Dash said eagerly, getting a scathing look from Twilight. “After he gets adjusted to Equestria, of course. It wouldn’t be a fair race if he was all mopey and sad.”  
“He has every right to be mopey and sad,” Twilight said, beating Fluttershy to the punch. Her gaze once again found the marble floor, shame featured on every dimension of her face. Fluttershy put a hoof on her shoulder.   
“You can’t put yourself down for doing what you believe is right, Twilight,” she comforted. “You only have to stick to the path you’ve chosen.”  
Rarity steped in and gave Twilight another hug. “Fluttershy is once again right. By regretting your own decision, you’ll be making bringing Raymond here pointless. It’s best to carry on with this course.”  
“I recon yall’re right,” Applejack added, stepping in.  
“You’re still our egghead,” Rainbow Dash said, “so there’s no hard feelings. Just a misyake, right?”  
“Right,” Twilight said, closing her eyes as she enjoyed everypony’s embrace. Everypony, that is, except a certain pink pony. “Hey, Pinkie,” Twilight asked, popping an eye open. “What are you doing.”  
Pinkie Pie stood exactly were she had been when the whole conversation had started, no small feat in of itself. Stranger still was the fact that she hadn’t interrupted at any point, nor had she joined the group hug, one of her favorite things. Instead, she stood completely still, save for a hoof rubbing her chin in contemplation as she stared at the floor.  
“I’m trying to decide whether to throw a ‘Welcome to this Dimension’ party, a ‘Welcome to Equestria’ party, a ‘Welcome to Ponyville’ party, or a ‘Hooray for a New Friend’ party,” she explained. Fluttershy smiled softly. Only Pinkie Pie… “The problem is,” she continued, “that no matter what I call it, it will always be wrong. And having a ‘Welcome to this Universe/Equestria/Ponyville and Happy New Friendship Party’ is quite the mouthful, even for me! And then there’s the problem that I don’t even know exactly what his favorite sweet is! Sweet Celestia, this is gonna be hard!”  
Everypony chuckled at that. It was a nice moment, when the current problems could briefly be forgotten, but it didn’t last long. As the light laughter died, Twilight’s face grew solemn once again.   
“I’m going to have to speak to Raymond in private,” she said, causing the last of the temporary mirth to go away. “I’d like to speak to him privately, if you girls don’t mind.”  
“Not at all, darling,” Rarity said before anypony could argue. “We’ll let him know you wish to speak with him.”   
As they left the throne room, Fluttershy could’ve sworn she had heard Twilight mutter, “Oh I don’t wish to speak with him, but he needs to know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And so, another chapter! I'm on FimFiction, now, and that's where most of my effort will be going. Go and check me out there, because that's where I'll keep the story going.


	5. Life Anew

Chapter 5 “Life Anew”

_______________________________________________________  
Meanwhile  
________________________________________________________________

Ray was fuming. He’d thought that most of his anger had subsided thanks to some friendly bickering with Discord and the little wrestling match he’d had with the others. However, upon seeing that cartoonish purple pony again, he’d nearly burst with sheer rage. He’d wanted to snap every bone in her miniscule body, curse her with the might of harmonic profanity, and burn the entire world to the ground. Instead, he’d squeezed his arms so hard they were bruised.  
Discord stood across the hall from him, seeming to think it best to leave Ray to his own devices. That probably was true, but he figured he should at least try to talk to the draconequus, instead of leaving him in awkward silence. Taking a deep breath, he was about to ask a question, when one of the guards coughed. Right, they weren’t alone.  
“Hey, um, sir,” he said to one of the guards, making them turn. Oh gosh, he was a she. “Ma’am, sorry. Would you please excuse me and my companion real quick.”  
The mare raised an eyebrow to her fellow guard. “Well,” she said, looking him up and down, “you’re not exactly under our jurisdiction, so yes you can. However, you will need an escort so you aren’t just blindly roaming around the castle.”  
“It would be my honor,” Discord spoke up abruptly, “to show my friend here his way around the castle.”  
Both guards gave him an incredulous eyebrow raise. They seemed to have experience with the Lord of Chaos, as one of them asked, “Are you sure that you are the best candidate for that?”  
“Oh please, ponies,” he said, swiping a paw at them as he pressed his eagle claw against his chest in an arrogant manner. “It’s not like you could do it, seeing how you have to guard the door. Besides, it's not like I’m evil anymore. I’ve been reformed, remember?”  
“Yes,” the male guard muttered, “but you're not conformed.”  
Ray couldn’t stop himself from chuckling at the guard’s quick wit. This earned him an appreciative smile from him, and a barbed glare from Discord. Still, he could see the small smile that tugged at the corner of his companion’s gray lips. He turned back to the two guards and said, “Well then, fine, don’t trust me and try to get Ray out of the castle while I guard the Princess.”  
The effect was almost immediate. Both guards’s eyes widened, and one the mare managed a quick, “No no, you can lead him away. We were just curious, that’s all.”  
“Curious my cloven hoof,” Discord muttered as he turned to Ray. His face brightened as he said, “Come on then, my human counterpart, let’s go!”  
Ray fell in step with Discord, only to find himself back in that checkered abyss. As quickly as he was in the place, he was out. He found that the room around him was rather bare, with the same blue, purple, and pink italics as the rest of the castle. A single window on the far right of the room was the only source of light, but it gave enough that he could see the entirety of the room.  
“Well,” Ray began, slightly off put by the sudden teleportation. “that was sudden.”  
“Oh, it usually is,” Discord said from behind him. He turned to find him sitting in a stereotypical “talk chair” with a gray fleece jacket and glasses on to top off the psychiatrist look. Ray suddenly felt something push against the back of his legs, forcing him to sit down on an elongated brown chair. Suddenly, he was back in the middle school counselor’s office, talking about the… the- crap, what was it? When was it?  
Ray shook his head as Discord asked, “Well, my friend. You seem to have something to tell me about.”  
A brief spike of panic shot through him, but he quickly dismissed it. He wasn’t talking about that. He didn’t know about that. He wanted to know about something else. Hopefully.   
“What do you want to know about,” he asked, trying to hide the caution in his voice.  
“Why, I’d like to know how you got here, of course,” Discord exclaimed. Right…   
Involuntarily, the entire story began rolling out of his mouth. The way he’d awakened to the sight of brightly colored ponies, how he’d initially thought it was all a dream, and his attempted escape from the castle. Discord even seemed slightly impressed at the taking out of four of the Princess’s elite. He grew solemn as Ray rambled on about the inner workings of his mind while leaning against the sturdy rock. A smile spread on Discord’s face, one that Ray was unable to identify, as he told of meeting Fluttershy and short discussion. He kept snickering as the tale of how he’d been assaulted by the others unfolded, practically dying when it came to the part about his fake out death over Pinkie’s cannon. In retrospect, it was kind of funny how he’d immediately defaulted to ‘Whelp, I’m dead’ mode, instead of something more logical. Still, a cannon in your face is a pretty terrifying experience.  
Eventually, the story was completed, and Ray took a deep breath, mouth dry from so much talking. Discord handed him a cup of water, somehow knowing he was thirsty. With a quick “Thanks”, he downed the cup. Not the water, the glass cup. Discord began to laugh hysterically, slapping his knee as Ray’s eyes widened in confusion. The water, still in the form of the cup, fell into his hands. He let go in surprise, which only made the water lose form and splash onto his lap, soaking his boxers. He quickly crossed his legs and cupped his hand over his crotch, hoping that Discord had been too busy laughing to notice anything more… revealing.  
When he finally stopped, Ray gave him a flat stare. “Anything else you want to know about?”  
“Actually, there is,” he responded, giving him a smug smile. “Why do you wear such ridiculous pants?”  
Raymond coughed, a blush instantly lighting up his face as he remembered his attire. Or, rather, lack of it. How would he explain decency to a race naturally clothed by their own fur? The matter was, he’d never worn solely his boxers outside of his bed for more than a minute on end. And now, here he was in a foreign land, walking around for hours as if he needed nothing else. Back on Earth, he would have been carted off to the big boys house for public indecency within the first ten minutes of being outside. Not to even mention the fact that, even without the water flattening it, the boxers would be very revealing at certain moments. He was just praying to whatever god this dimension had that none of the ponies had noticed the boys through the thin cloth.   
Of course, Discord caught on to his means of embarrassment, and only further pressed the point. “Well, why? You seem awfully embarrassed about the whole ordeal, so I just have to know why.”  
Ray resisted the urge to reach across the short distance between the chairs and slap him, instead opting to give him a twins-worthy eye roll. “It’s for decency. In fact, where I come from, this is also considered indecent. We humans are rather private about our, well, privates.”  
Discord quirked an eyebrow in confusion. “Don’t you have fur down there,” he asked.  
“Not enough,” Ray muttered under his breath, but Discord still looked like he’d heard it. “Hey, speaking of decency, do you mind helping me get more decent?”  
“Why, not at all,” he answered enthusiastically. “That’s what I’m here for, after all! To help everypony who needs it.”  
“Right,” Ray said, giving the all too happy draconequus a suspicious glance. “Do you know what pants and shirts are?” Discord nodded. “What about shoes and socks?” Once again he nodded, an eager look on his face. “Coudja perhaps give me a pair of each? Nothing too crazy, please,” he added right before Discord was about to snap his eagle claws. He complied, as Ray suddenly found himself completely clothed in the requested articles.  
The shirt was a short T that shared the same sort of color scheme as Discord himself, green bottom, brown middle, and gray top. The shorts he was now wearing could have passed as from Earth, the blue denim slightly faded. His shoes were also accurate representations of sneakers bak at home, albeit a size too large. He’d grow into it, at least, if his growth hadn’t somehow been affected by interdimensional travel. The socks were also very near to the Fruit of the Loom pairs he’d worn back at home. It seemed that cotton was also existent in this universe.  
“Thanks, Discord,” he said with a smile. “It’s nice to have a god as a friend.”  
“Oh, don’t mention it,” Discord insisted. “Besides, I’m not really a god, moreso a personification of Chaos itself.”  
“Good, because that would mean I was praying to you earlier,” he joked, reaching up and scratching the top of his head. “Would hate to stoke your ego.”  
“A travesty, truly,” the beast agreed, chuckling. His eyes, however, were not directed to Ray’s, but to the hand in his hair. His grin widened as Ray slowly pulled the dirty blond mass down in front of his eyes, only to find that it wasn’t dirty blond. Instead, it was the same white as Discord’s goatee and eyebrows. Ray sighed and gave Discord a “really” kind of look. He had no doubt that if there were a mirror nearby, he would’ve found that his eyebrows were also the same snowy white.  
Without even having to ask, Discord changed his hair back to its correct color. Discord looked like he was about to say something, when his mouth suddenly shut and his eyes became fixed on an unknown object. Nodding, he looked back at Ray, he said, “It seems that good ol’ Twilight would like to talk with you now.”  
Anger resurfaced, but barely had time to show thanks to the sudden tug at his stomach and pull through the dimensional rift. Ray fell to the ground as he found the chair that had been supporting him was replaced by empty air. He heard equine and draconequus laughter alike at his blunder, grumbling as he got up. Even Fluttershy had a soft smile on her pretty little face. Brilliant.  
“Next time,” he began, before taking a calming breath. “Next time please warn me before poofing me around.”  
“He won’t,” Rainbow Dash said, giving him a smile. “He says he will everytime, but he doesn’t.”  
Discord pouted at her. “Now Dashy, that’s not true at all. Imabouttoteleportus!” Before Raymond could even blink, the two were gone and back in a flash, leaving Dash with the misfortune of being off balance and falling to the ground. Admittedly, it was funny, but Ray restrained himself from laughing. At least karma was still up to her usual shenanigans.

“The Princess is waiting for you,” the female guard said, reminding him of the gray reality of why he was here. He felt his brow furrow into the beginnings of a scowl, his lips downturned. He nodded to the group, then wordlessly pushed through the heavy doors and walked into the chamber.   
Immediately, he had to shut off his anger, which also meant shutting down every other emotion he had to face. Sorrow died away, dragging hope with it, who in turn cried for help from joy. Joy simply blundered and tripped over Angers body and tumbled away with the other two. Confusion tried to take over, shoving at Trust, but pushed too hard and toppled down with Trust. All the while, Ray’s damn legs carried him closer to that damn pony.   
There was something accompanying the Princess this time. It looked reptilian, with its purple body scales and tan stomach and throat scales. It seemed to have the same birth gene that pegasi, its wings the same color as its primary lavender. It had lime green frills on its face, slightly darker green plates, lining its spine from head down. Its emerald green eyes were squinted in observation, and Ray could tell it was trying to read him. Good luck with that, he thought sardonically.  
As he closed the distance between them, Twilight drew herself up in false confidence. It was easy to tell, with the way her ears seemed to be glued solidly to the side of her head and that slight trembling. Still, she looked him straight in his eye, chin tilted up in a sense of imperious control. A small part of him, more instinctual than emotional, wanted to snap that flimsy confidence in half. The opportunity came almost as soon as he had the thought, when she said, “You have one sentence to say anything, and then I’m talking and you’re silent.”  
“You’re a bitch,” he said without a moment’s hesitation.   
The effect was instant, her pillars of confidence crumbling away like sand. She actually flinched away from him, her head turning down as her eyes squeezed shut. He’d just won the battle, and she knew it. In three simple words, he’d just exposed her weakness, exploited it, and tore through her papery credence.   
The creature growled, flaring its wings aggressively, a puff of smoke shooting out of its snout. Ray gave it a moment, registering that the creature must’ve been a dragon, or something like that.   
“What’re you,” he asked it. “A pet?”  
The creature bared its teeth as it took a step forward. It was actually funny how little distance that covered, given its miniscule size and stubby legs. It must’ve had, based on how easily that went its skin, the maturity of a teen in its race. This almost made him laugh out loud, and it saw that, because it began grinding its teeth together in agitation.   
“Hey,” Twilight suddenly snapped, “you have no quarry with him. It’s me you're mad at, and nopony else.”  
“He growled,” he muttered, glaring down at the two.   
“I was mad,” the dragon said, its voice dripping with anger, “because you called Twilight a-a-a…”  
“A bitch? What’s wrong? Too much of a big boy word for you,” he mocked it, gaining an actual glare from Twilight.  
“No, he just doesn’t need curse words to deal with the dimwitted, arrogant, cloven-hoofed, imbecile in front of him,” Twilight yelled, flying up in front of his face. She was panting from her tirade, anger sparking in her eye as real confidence had taken hold in her. Her ears were perked up, and her look dared him to try to retort. She took a breath, regaining her composure. “Just because your day is absolutely terrible right now, doesn’t mean you have a right to ruin others.”  
Ray opened his mouth to argue, but Twilight was instantly up in his face, pressing her muzzle against his nose. “Your word quota has been hit,” she growled. “You’ve said what you wanted to. It’s my turn now.”  
She flew back a bit, and settled on the ground. “What I’m about to tell you is confidential, so this is between you and me. I did tell the girls some things, but not all. There’s much to be discussed, so you might wanna sit.”  
Raymond did so, confused by this newer front of Twilight. Where was the timid, unsure pony that had kidnapped him? She seemed to have died away completely, replaced by a determined, solemn counterpart.   
“One year ago, as of this Tuesday, I was crowned Chief ruler of Equestria and all of her dominions. At the time, I was nervous, not entirely sure how I was supposed to lead a nation. I was given the powers of the sun and moon, and the knowledge that came with them. I was advised by my former rulers on how to be the best ruler I could, by leading with kindness, passion, and friendship. The one piece of knowledge that I didn’t receive was what the future had in store for Equestria.  
“If you haven’t already noticed, or don’t know, I’m an alicorn. Amongst ponies, that means I’ll never age. I’ll rule this land until either I find a pony to take my place, or Equus itself ends. However, the latter seems more likely than the former, thanks to some more recent insight I’ve gained access to.  
“After being crowned, one of the first things I did was consult with some other very high level mages. After weeks of research, experimentation, and study, we were able to perfect a spell that allowed divination of the future. I, being the head of this endeavor, was the one who went through the gateway formed. Under the spell, I was able to view future days in minutes. Most of the things I saw were trivial. That is, until I reached two years, two months, and thirteen days into the future.”  
Twilight took a deep breath as her demeanor faltered under whatever memory she was having of what she’d seen. Fear, disgust, and sadness flashed across her countenance, as she too sat down under the wait of her emotions. Her reptilian companion patted her softly in a silent urging to carry on. With a last deep breath, she continued.  
“Equestria is invaded by a force like none other before it. Minotaurs will come to our shores in massive fleets, thousands of their warriors spreading throughout our land. They will hold no morals, killing even our youngest in a bloodthirsty wave that will cleanse Equestria of all creatures. They will wear the skins of my ponies as trophies, feast on our flesh, and use our bones as weapons against our allies.”  
Twilight was trembling now, silent tears streaming down her face and dripping against the marble. She looked like she didn’t want to say anything more, but her mouth continued to move, and sound continued to come out.  
“I saw it. They invaded Canterlot, killing ponies as they ran by. The streets became red tributaries to a river of blood. Guards stood their ground, but were hewn down like grain in the field. And then I saw Ponyville.  
“They were unprepared, some even unknowing of the oncoming slaughter. They attacked through the farside of the Acres, killing the Apples as they passed. They wore their skin, blood and all, as they rampaged through the town. I didn’t see everypony, b-but I- Isaw Pinkie Pie and Fluttershy. They couldn't laugh their w-way out, and no amount of k-kindness did it…”   
She trailed off as the first sob echoed in the hall. Twilight’s head turned down as her emotions got the best of her, tears leaving a puddle on the floor. The dragon was now hugging her tightly, tears slipping out of the corners of his eyes as he comforted his ruler. Ray sat there silently staring at the swirly purple floor, trying to comprehend.   
Ponies, bright, knee-high creatures, would be slaughtered by the thousands, for existing. Pinkie Pie, the over eccentric, loony pony that seemed to be eternally happy for no reason but life, a bloody piece of fur on some monster’s shoulder? And Fluttershy, the first pony to show him any form of humanity in this dimension, guts laid out on the street, lifeless eyes staring up at a bloodied sky? It was scary how easy it was to imagine it. The thoughts, though, instantly made him growl with the “not under my watch” tone that came naturally as an elder sibling.   
“Wh-what I’m trying to say,” Twilight stuttered, making Ray look back to her, “is that we ponies would be completely overwhelmed. Unable to stand against these beasts of death, we’d be eradicated entirely, with only ruins to tell our tale.”  
“Couldn’t you just fight back,” Ray questioned. “Your guards have spears and armor, and you mentioned you have allies. Couldn't you assemble a force to stop this all?”  
“No,” she replied. “The mind of an equine is not meant to handle violence. The act of killing is unheard of amongst many ponies, and actually committing to it snaps the mind of a pony. Being around death is sometimes even enough to break our minds. Many of our allies are the same, and those that aren’t would either be too reckless, or too untrustworthy to have as defence. We may call them allies, but in truth, they just have a piece of parchment stating that they will yada yada and will not blah blah blah.”  
“Wait, you’ve said Equestria’s been invaded before,” he said, holding up a hand. “What happened then.”  
“Which time,” she asked blandly.  
“If you’ve been invaded before,” Ray began exasperatedly, “why don’t you have set defences for this sorta thing?”  
“Because in my life,” Twilight calmly explained, “all of the invasions have been internal, save one aerial assault. None have been done by coast before, and the old Equestrian Unification Wars were all on the continent.”  
“Unification Wars? So you've fought in the past? Why not now?”  
“I’ve asked Celestia the same thing, but she simply told me that after the wars, she locked away any violent tendencies we might have. She used a mental block that passed on genetically, just in case she ever needed to use it again.”  
“Then why don’t you just stop the mental blocking. This Celestia seems to be one of the previous rulers you were talking about, so why didn’t she pass on that information to you. Sounds like it’d be pretty important knowledge to have.”  
“Well, Celestia did pass on the information, in a way,” Twilight explained, rubbing a hoof on a spot under her horn. “I only know about this whole mental block thing because of this, but I can’t undo it since I wasn’t the one who cast the spell. Since Celestia doesn’t have the power of the sun, she can’t undo it. Besides, the introduction of violence into the pony's minds would create anarchy. Murders would be committed, disputes would become violent, and war could break out internationally, if the wrong feathers were ruffled. It also doesn’t help that Celestia hadn’t thought that far ahead.”  
“Speaking of which, why didn’t Celestia or the other ruler just look into the future? The must’ve been alicorns too, from what you’re saying. Why didn’t they do all the predicting and crap?”  
“You must understand that one of them was banished to the moon for a thousand years, and the other had to take over both the daily and nightly tasks of ruling Equestria. With barely enough time to sleep, I’m pretty sure discovering the secret to divination was not one of the main priorities of Celestia.”  
“Oh.”  
“Anyways, after discovering what the future held, I tried to find any way to stop the invasion. Ponies fighting was off the table, and since there was no force in our known world, I decided to call in the sisters in for help. They told me that since there was no force in our world, then I had to bring one in.”  
“Me,” Ray muttered. His brain was currently a roller coaster of thought as the new information saturated every level of his focus. The smallest bit of him felt injustice, but the rest of him was too confused to even register proper speech. Finally, he managed to say, “B-but I’m only one kid. How do I fight it off, when I’m not even a fighter.”  
Liar.  
“You can fight, you just aren’t formally trained,” Twilight said, giving him a pointed look. “You have over a year to train for the coming future.”  
“Only a year? Why didn’t bring me here sooner?”  
“It took me almost three months, with the help of my friends, to perfect a spell that allowed interdimensional viewing and interaction. Since I couldn’t devote much time to it, it took me another month to find your dimension. It took another six months to find you. The perfect candidate.”  
“But why me,” he asked, feeling completely numb with confusion. Was his life really being lived in a hyper realistic, pony run world, as the involuntary champion of the innocent beings that populated this land? Yes, yes it was.   
“Well, one of the major factors was that your English is an exact duplicate of Ponish. There’s also the fact that you needed to be a little mature, while also being young. Your intelligence also is a key detail. Your ability to quickly respond to any situation is admirable, and considering your past…”  
Ray didn’t hear the rest of what she was saying. His past. She was referring to those two… two… Ray stared at the ground, trying to remember exactly what it was he’d forgotten. He didn’t know how long he’d been sitting there, simply staring at the floor, before he was snapped out of his daze by Twilight clearing her throat.   
“Raymond? Are you okay,” she asked, actual concern in her voice. Of course there was. He was Equestria’s only defense against the tide of blood that would wash through her land.  
“No. I’m not,” he said, looking back at her. “You should know that. But still, there must’ve been other candidates with the same attributes as me. Why me?”  
“There were others,” she admitted. “The deciding factor, though, is the fact that, well, you… you died the day I took you.”  
Silence veiled the room as Ray searched her eyes. There was no lie in them. She looked down quickly, as if it was her fault that he would’ve died. He knew that couldn’t have been the case, but his suspicions grew anyway.   
“It’s why I waited until today to bring you here. I wanted you to enjoy your life amongst your own kind as much as you could, before I took you. I took you in the early morning, before you woke up so you wouldn’t have to deal with the side effects of interdimensional travel.”  
“How did I die?”  
“You would’ve been killed by one of those vehicles that you use. Your death wouldn’t have been immediate either. It took hours before you finally succumbed to your wounds.”  
“My family, what about them?”  
“Exactly how you might imagine it. They lack the funds to function without you. Your siblings are taken from your parents and put into foster care. Both of your parents end up commiting suicide, along with one of your siblings, Ben. Your sister goes on to become an author, and your other siblings find their own passions, but aren’t able to properly function thanks to their disabilities.”  
Each word was a knife to Ray’s heart, wrenching back and forth at the end of every sentence. He knew that this is what would’ve happened, but the reality of the situation made tears once again slide down his cheeks. Almost inaudibly, he asked, “And how will it be any different with me here?”  
“Your dimension will readjust to compensate for its loss. Most likely, your family will be shifted so that your sister will be the eldest. Your family will have more of a capability to take care of themselves, and may even be adjusted so that mental disabilities are removed.” Twilight seemed to want to stop talking, but instead said, “They might just do better without you.”  
Raymond gave her a blank stare. She cringed at what she said, biting down on her lip.   
“Let me summarize,” he said. “You horses can’t fight a bloodthirsty mob, so you brought me to fight them instead.”  
“Y-yes,” she reaffirmed.   
“Screw you,” he yelled. “No.”  
As he stormed away, he heard Twilight call, “Wait. Aren’t you wondering where you’ll stay?”  
Damn it, she was right. He turned back to her, glaring. Even if this was an attempt to bribe him, it would do to have at least a roof over his head while he slept. The thing was, no matter how much he resisted, he would end up facing the same fate as the rest of these ponies. Twilight had mentioned something about over a year till the invasion came, so that was at least a year longer than what he would’ve gotten back on Earth. Might as well enjoy it.  
“I figured you’d be pretty mad at me, so I at least had the foresight to have a house built for you. It’s in Ponyville so you can stay away from me, but also close enough that you don’t run away. The house is as close to a representation of a human home I could get without having the builders asking too many questions. If anypony but the girls asks, you stumbled out of the Everfree.”  
“And why should I exactly keep your little abduction of me a secret,” he asked bitterly.  
“The reason why, of course,” she shot back. Caught him there. He simply growled in response. Not much else he could do.  
“Alright then, send me ‘home’.”  
“As you wish.”  
An all too familiar feeling of tugging in his gut began, and the world once again flashed away in purple and white.


	6. The Shower’s a Good Place to Make Life Changing Decisions

Chapter 6 “The Shower’s a Good Place to Make Life Changing Decisions”

As his vision returned, Raymond fought the sudden urge to throw up. Guess teleporting around willy-nilly was an easy way to upturn one’s stomach. Big surprise. Speaking of stomach, the unruly organ let out a loud groan, complaining about it’s lack of breakfast, and by now, lunch. He sighed, looking up from his stomach to take in his surroundings.  
He stood in what he could only assume was the living room of his new house. In front of him was a desk with an accompanying bookshelf that reached to the roof, stacked with its namesake. To his left was a window facing far hills next to the door that led out the house. To his right, an open doorway led to another room, the wall beside it completely bare. The wallpaper featured an endless pattern of zigzagging teal and cream lines.   
He stepped forward and turned around to get a better view of what was behind him. There was a long, lapis lazuli blue sofa in the right corner that looked so airy that even a feather would make it compress. Beside it was a padded wooden rocking chair with a more modern aesthetic facing the window. How kind of Twilight to give him a place to contemplate his life.  
He walked into the other room, finding it to be a white tiled kitchen. Well, that was probably a good thing, since he actually knew how to cook. Feeding seven monsters, two parents, and one’s self is a very quick way to learn how to cook food correctly. There were three long cupboards on all three walls, the middle one broken up by a microwave. Below it was a stove and oven, more cupboards on the ground level. There was a sink to the right with a window above it, allowing him a view of Ponyville. Overall, the average American kitchen.  
He began rifling through the cupboards, finding the bottom ones were filled with mixing bowls, pots, pans, and other kitchen utensils. The top ones were stocked with boxes of oats, wheat, rye, and other grains, along with some sauces and spices. He nearly tripped over a stool that was too small to be any use to him, but in doing so, discovered the pantry. It had other food stuff in it, including a refrigerator that had cheese, milk, and, blessedly, soda. He immediately took out one of the bottles and chugged it down, letting himself enjoy the tingle of carbonation. It didn’t seem to have caffeine, but at least the sugar still gave him a small burst of energy.  
He decided to eat before exploring the rest of his new home, lest he get sidetracked with some other feature. He pulled a pot out, along with some noodles, tomato sauce, and a couple spices. He quickly whipped up some spaghetti, noting that the clock on the stovetop read 12:48.   
By this time, he’d be heading to his other job at Ms. Pina’s. Other than, he’d be stopped, in a rather painful manner.  
Ray shook his head. Best not to think of that so soon. He let himself become completely consumed in his cooking. He delicately stirred in the last of the basil he’d sprinkled in, then took a small taste. Perfect. Despite his situation, he smiled as he grabbed a plate and- whaddya know! They have forks!- and plopped the concoction onto his plate. He set out to the room behind him, a small dining room with two doors connected to it, and sat down on one of the wooden chairs.  
The room was nothing fancy, something that Ray actually appreciated, just a table for four, and the two doorways. There were also windows that allowed him a better view of the bustling town. He ate silently, idly thinking that he would have to find some curtains to block out that still too bright sun. He’d need money for that though, which also meant finding a job.  
He quickly ran through a list of jobs he could do on the fly. Anything to do with lifting, cooking, or gardening. His mind instantly went to the well organized grove of apple trees he’d seen. They must be part of a farm to be so symmetrical and tame, and Twilight had mentioned an Apple farm. He quickly made the connection between a certain Apple Jack, and made a mental note to ask her about it next time he saw her. He briefly considered the fact that Pinkie Pie had to be a cook of some sort, but dismissed the idea of working for her when he realized that trying to keep up with a pony that seemed to run purely off of sugar was beyond him.  
Slowly, Ray felt himself relaxing, and even allowed himself to forget entirely why he was here in the first place. He felt a little stinging on his shoulders, and quickly checked beneath his shirt to find slightly pink shoulders. Sunburned. Lovely.   
He finished up his lunch and walked back into the kitchen, washing off his plate and fork and setting them out to dry, as there was no dishwasher. He walked back into the dining room, and decided to go through the door to his left since it was closer. It led to a carpeted stairwell that went upwards. Two story house, it seemed. He was about to slowly creep up the dark stairs like in some horror movie, when he realized there was a lightswitch right by his hand.   
He chuckled at his own foolishness, flipping it on and lighting up the blue stairway. He strode upstairs, finding a two way hall at the top. The left led to two different doorways, the right one to a large room with chairs and sofas taking up the space. He dubbed it the social room, because it seemed to be the only proper use for it. He figured he’d explore the other two rooms, since the social room was basically completely discovered.   
Opening the door to the one on the right, he found that it was a pleasant master bedroom. Inside was a queen size bed that could’ve easily fit three of his siblings with their stuffed animals. He laid down on the bed for a moment, sinking into its soft mattress. There was a double window to his left that allowed him further viewing of Ponyville. He quickly saw just how far away from the town he was. Nothing too far, just enough to keep most ponies away.   
There was an adjoining master bathroom that had the same white tiles as the kitchen below him. The bathroom featured a large bathtub, a shower with distorted glass to allow privacy, a closet and a toilet. Quickly realizing that he did need to go, he quietly did his business. As he washed his hands, he caught a whiff of his pits. Right. He hadn’t gotten the opportunity to shower, since last night had been one of his more exhausting shifts at the dump. He would have to deal with that after he finished his exploration.  
He checked the other room, finding it to be a smaller bedroom, with a smaller bed. This one he dubbed the guest bedroom, since there wasn’t much other use for it. He wasn’t really sure exactly when or why he might have guests, but it was nice to set precautions. Heading back downstairs, he found that the other door was just a closet. So interesting.  
Glancing at the clock as he passed through the kitchen, it was a quarter after one. So much time left to the day that he didn’t even know how to spend it. He began to allow the bitter thoughts to creep back into his brain as he reached the bedroom. Grumbling incoherently under his breath, he grabbed a fluffy white towel out of the bathroom closet. He couldn’t find the soap initially, but as he stripped down beside the shower, he saw it in the corner. Tearing it out of the box viciously, he turned the shower on at full heat. Within seconds, steam flowed out of the shower.   
Stepping into the shower, he realized that, unlike in his home on Earth, hot really meant hot. Yelping in pain, he leapt out of the boiling. He had a silent moment of rage to those people- scratch that ponies- that actually enjoyed two hundred degree water on their bare bodies. Turning it to midway, he found that the water was sufficiently warm, and hopped back in, shutting the door behind him. Letting his mind fixate the sound of rushing water, he felt his thoughts turn to the thoughts they usually did.  
You see, in a house of seven siblings and two parents, the only private place to think the deepest thoughts one might have, was where the water blocked out the noise of the world and warmth couldn’t be pulled away. Here, thoughts and secrets wound their way through the mind in a long, strenuous trail that ended with the flowing of warm water. It took time, and that allowed more thoughts to be formed and ran through. Usually, it was calm, soothing. Right now was different.  
The conversation with Twilight kept playing through Ray’s head over and over, like a broken record player trying to play through a disc. Numerous questions were floating around his head, all of varying importance.   
Did the others actually approve of this violation of his life? What would they think if he told them that he wouldn’t fight for their species? Would they understand ? He hadn’t been able to actually talk to them due to the demand he’d made. That was lack of foresight on his part. How would they be getting home? That one was actually the lowest of his questions. He didn’t even know them. Why should he care?  
What was family like back on Earth? Twilight had suggested that they might be better off now than they were before. Would they actually be better off without him? He was the reason why his parents hadn’t finished college. Would they actually have finished their education? Were they now pursuing their dream jobs, instead of the makeshift work they had imprisoned themselves? Was he the reason his family was destitute, nearly to the point where there wasn’t enough food to go around?  
The last thought made him shudder in realization. Yes, he was. The thought was one that had never really caught up with him. Pain, actual pain, burst from his chest as he tried to hold back tears that were collecting at the corners of his eyes. He sobbed as he let himself remember why he’d always fought so hard for his family, had given up his dreams for them.   
His tears joined with the warm water that was flowing down his face. He’d never wanted to accept this, never had allowed himself to think about it. It was painful, beyond anything he’d ever felt, and he had to brace himself against the wall to stop himself from crumpling to the shower floor. He softly banged his head against the wall, trying to feel any semblance of his body. He was caught up in his emotions, unable to feel anything but his walls crumbling, releasing a flood of despair and anger at himself. Years of keeping himself solid, unifaced, in front of his siblings was now falling apart in a single, interdimensional shower.  
Ray scoffed bitterly at himself. What a guy he was, crying in a shower that in reality, wherever that was, he had done nothing but destroy his family since birth. He was utterly useless. Another head among seven billion who had doomed nine. He hit his head against the wall of the shower harder, feeling the bruise from his earlier run in with a pillar respond with pain. He hit himself against the wall harder, wincing in pain as the bruise yelled at him. He deserved it.  
He began to increase his force, banging beginning to echo from the shower. It wasn’t enough. He needed to do more. He ripped the shower door open, leaving the water on as he left. Dripping across the floor, he began searching through the closet. After only a few seconds, he found it.   
A razor.  
He tore open the box, tossing it aside as he pulled the tool out. He ripped the guard off as he strode over to the sink. He held his wrist over the sink and pressed the blade against the vein there.  
He could do it. There was nothing here for him, and there was no way of going back to where he belonged. He could just end it all now. His life was pointless, inconsequential without any purpose. He pressed the blade down harder on his skin. Just a simple swipe, and soon life would be over. No more suffering, no more failing, only darkness, maybe even heaven.  
His hand began shaking, and slowly, he pulled the blade away. He was a coward, unable to do even one thing right. The blade slipped from his hand as his grip loosened, bouncing off the counter and clattering to the ground beside him. He stared into the sink, hating himself. He didn’t deserve the air he breathed, the house he now owned, the second chance he’d been given.   
He sunk to the ground, shivering as the warm water on his back became cold. The shower continued to run beside his, the soap untouched. He didn’t deserve any of it. Slowly, he got up and back into the shower, shutting the door behind him, as tears once again joined the water of the shower.   
At this point, Ray began to actually wash himself, allowing himself to calm down. He stared blankly at the ground as he did so. Was he really about to kill himself? Despite the injustice of his whole situation, despite the injustice of it all, Twilight had still given him a second chance. A chance that he could actually make a difference, for better or for worse. Grudgingly, he thanked the pony for being crazy enough to choose him.  
Now, he had a purpose. Now, he had a life, not the slavery that he’d subjected himself to. Although, was this a different kind of slavery? Being forced to fight for another’s benefit. In a way, this was his world too, and if the minotaurs did arrive here, he was just as screwed as everyone else here. Slowly, he came to a conclusion.  
He would fight. He would fight for himself, for a second chance at life. He’d fight for redemption for his past life, and he would fight for those who couldn't fight for themselves. He wouldn’t fight for some prissy pony princess, but for his own sorry hide.   
He decided quickly that he would take up her offer to train him, even though she was the last pony he wanted to be around. He would need an army, too. Twilight had made it sound like the army of minotaurs was composed of thousands, if not tens of thousands. No amount of training would allow him to take on a force like that and come out on top. He’d have to ask her next time he saw her. Hopefully not that soon. He’d come to terms, at least for now, with his fate.  
His brain began working faster. He needed a map of Equestria, so he could get a decent look at his new home. He quickly thought of the minotaurs from mythology. Large, brutish beasts with a taste for human, or in this case, pony blood. They were naturally muscular, so he’d need a weapon to combat that. Something that would be quick, with as much force as he could put behind it.  
His mind naturally went for a sword, but he realized that the elegant weapon would do minimal damage against the likes of them. Unless he was able to get a throat slash, or between the ribs, it would be like poking a bear with a stick. Instead, he’d need something long to keep him out of the minotaur’s reach. A spear.  
Not just a spear, though. Something that could do surface damage beyond repair. Something built to kill, even if it wouldn’t necessarily be immediate. If the minotaurs were going to play inhumanely, then he would play their game to his advantage.   
There could be hooks on the side, forming a sort of V with curved out sides. He played a mental movie in his head as he ran shampoo through his hair. Him, in the front lines of some magical force, toting a spear like no other, courageously facing down the foes of existence. He laughed as he unintentionally added the red effects of the Demon King to himself, with his three youngest joining him with their elven legions. For the fun of it, he added Kevin with a submachine gun, spraying down wave after wave of beasts with unrealistic accuracy. Mags would be manning artillery pieces in the back, working quicker than their greatest supercomputers to get correct angles. Ben, flying an F-16C, dive bombing their ranks with Mason as his copilot. Mental stuff really.  
Ray laughed for a good long while as the movie played out in his head, the addition of his siblings giving the dark thoughts a happier twist. Slowly though, the image faded away, leaving Ray back to his moping. He really should stop. After another moment of self indulgence in his despair, he put his walls back up. He needed to be strong now. He now had another reason to fight.   
The water had gotten cold now, so he turned it up a bit higher to finish his shower. He began making plans. He would need to tell Twilight that he would take her up on the offer to train him. He practiced what he needed to say to Twilight to let her know exactly what he meant and why exactly he would fight. The conversation would have to be somewhat professional, which naturally meant no cussing her out. Besides, he’d already gotten most of that out of his system, and searching deeper, he actually found that none of that burning anger was still hiding, waiting to strike.   
Not that he wasn’t still pissed off at Twilight, it just wasn’t that he felt like tearing her apart at the mention of her name. More like just wanting to make anything she had to do with him as hard as possible. Act like a right git, if you so please.  
Finally finishing the longest shower in his life, he turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. Grabbing the white towel, he gave himself a quick dry off. However, as he went to put on his clothes, he hesitated. It was still light outside, with the sun not even setting yet, which meant that he still had several hours left to his day. He opted to just wrap the towel around his waist tightly instead, as having slightly wet clothes on the rest of the day would lead to chafing in uncomfortable places.  
He turned back to the bathroom and grimaced at the mess in there from his frantic searching. He began quickly searching through the different bathroom supplies as he put them back in their proper places. Who knew ponies had Q-tips and cotton balls? It was a good thing they also had rubbing alcohol too, because one of his ears had gotten water in it. Going through the procedure, he found that pony alcohol had to be weaker, since it took him three attempts to get the water completely out. He also found a hidden stash of paper towels that he used to clean up some of the larger puddles on the floor.   
He stepped back, admiring his work. It looked practically brand new, which actually made since, since Twilight had said that this house had been custom made for him. Looking closer, he could easily see it. The ceiling was at least two feet above his head, much larger than any pony would need. The tub would fit him lying down, and his shower had proven that it had the capacity to work for a human. The stove was at his stomach level, and the refrigerator also had a top freezer that no pony would ever be tall enough to reach without assistance.   
He hummed in slight appreciation for Twilight’s foresight, since being in one of those houses down in town would’ve been quite cramped. Another thing he was already coming to appreciate was his separation from the town. He really didn’t feel like dealing with equine solicitors at the moment, especially with his near death experience. Begrudgingly, he thanked that while Twilight lacked any sense of morals, she knew enough about his psychology to put himself in a place where he could feel semisafe.   
Glancing at a bedside clock on a nightstand he hadn’t noticed when he first entered the room, he had to suppress a gasp. The clock now read three minutes to four. Two and a half hours in the shower, or out at some darker points. Looking down at his hands, he saw that they were wrinkled from the amount of time they had been in the water. His toes fared no better, as they looked like pale raisons stuck to his feet.   
Sighing, he opened the door to his bedroom and turned down the hall. He needed a snack after such life changing decisions. As he walked down the stairs, he noticed that the stairwell was unnaturally dark. Hadn’t he left the light on? He was too far down the stairs and too lazy to go back up the stairs to turn the light back on, so he simply continued down. Opening a door that hadn’t previously been shut, Ray found the downstairs completely dark.   
The windows had been draped, and when he looked for the stovetop clock, he didn’t find it. His skin crawled as he cautiously called out, “Who’s there?”  
In response, the lights suddenly flipped on and a certain pink pony popped up in front of him, yelling at full, earsplitting volume, “SUR-PIES!”


	7. Welcome to Ponyville

Chapter 7 “Welcome to Ponyville”

Scholars to this day still have no true understanding of the noise that came out of Ray’s mouth when the surprise was pulled on him. It was some strange semblance of a curse, a yell, and a cry of terror. To accumulate it into a word-  
“FfffaAAGHHhhheeEEEeeeoout!”  
The room instantly became silent as confetti and little streamers floated down around Ray. Although he couldn’t see his own eyes, as they were in his head, he knew they had to be wider than the pony’s before him. He tried to calm his heartbeat down from ripping out of his chest to cracking his ribs as Pinkie dropped down from the ceiling, somehow landing on her hooves despite dropping headfirst. In doing so, she allowed him a brief glimpse of the room.  
Ponies of all colors and species lined the room, and a huge peach banner reading ‘Welcome to this Universe/Equestria/Ponyville and Happy New Friendship, Raymond!’ was strung from one end of the dining room to the other. Dozens of ponies were here, many of them blushing at his current state of apparel, or severe lacking of it. Ray just counted himself lucky he hadn’t dropped the towel, otherwise he might’ve just charged directly into the minotaur’s land from embarrassment. Not that this was much better.  
There were several smaller tables in the room now instead of the singular wooden table earlier, each with a different refreshment on it. Some of the ponies wore little party hats, and there was a disco ball now hanging from the ceiling. There was also a pony with white fur and a blue mane with lightning blue highlights sitting at a DJ station. Ray didn’t really didn’t know how to react to the sudden party in his home, so he simply stared slack jawed at the scenery.  
“Ooooooh, we gotchu good, didn’t we Ray?” Pinkie Pie had suddenly reappeared in his vision with a grin that Ray could probably stand on. “C’mon, tell me that was the most surprising surprise anypony has ever surprised you with!”  
“What the hell,” he finally managed to ask. The effect was that of one dropping the big F in a kindergarten classroom, as everypony gasped at his language. Right, ponies were a bit sensitive about the whole cursing thing. He’d have to remember that. He decided to rephrase his question, as to get an actual answer instead of synchronized gasps. “Sorry. Can anybody tell me what is going on here?”  
“Well, I don’t know if anybody can tell you what’s going on, but I know a particular pony that could tell you,” Pinkie said, her smile somehow growing. She threw herself around his neck, and screeched, “That’s me. We’re throwing a surprise welcome to this universe/Equestria/Ponyville and happy new friendship party!”  
Ray set the soft pink pony down on the ground, finding her surprisingly light , all things considered. He took a step back, looking at all of the ponies in the room, only recognizing five of them, the ones from before. Had all of them really come just to welcome him to their home, even without knowing him. He didn’t even know how they had found his home, since he’d only lived here for less than four hours. And then there was the sheer amount of work they must’ve put into getting this party set up, since they had managed to be quiet enough he hadn’t heard them.  
Not that he would’ve heard them, with what had happened. Oh geez. What would they have thought if he hadn’t come down, if he’d done it? What would they think if they found their newest resident dead in a pool of blood, razor in hand? Would they be able to understand what had transpired? How would they have reacted to a stranger’s suicide?  
Not that it mattered now. He hadn’t carried through, whether for better or worse.   
He gave the room a small smile. “Thanks for coming everybo- pony, but you really shouldn’t be wasting your time and money on me. I’m sure you have better things to do right now…”   
Pinkie Pie pouted as she sat down. “Aaaah, what’s wrong? We do this anytime somepony comes to Ponyville. Or has a birthday here. Or an anniversary. Or-”   
“I think he gets the point, Pinkie,” a familiar rainbow maned pegasus called. Several other ponies voiced their agreement, although most were looking away from him. Right. Towel.   
He looked down at the hopeful pink pony. Giving her an uneasy smile, he told her, “Alright. Let me just get dressed.”  
“Yay,” she shouted, shooting into the air as confetti sprayed out of her tangled pink mane. Ray backed out of the room, shutting the door to the stairs on his way out. He ran up the stairs quickly, running a hand through his hair. Why had he agreed? The answer was surprisingly easy. He was lonely, and had nothing to do for the rest of the day. Besides, he’d seen Apple Jack in the room. Hopefully he’d be able to offer up his services to her, if his assumptions were correct about her.  
Quickly drying off any remaining droplets of water, he got dressed back into the clothes Discord had given him. Taking a deep breath to prep himself for the upcoming socialization he was forcing himself into, he stepped out of his room. And nearly into Pinkie Pie.   
“Gah,” he yelped, nearly stepping onto one of her hoofs.  
“Sorry,” the pink pony apologized, her tail wagging as she stood up, grinning at him. “I just couldn’t wait for you to come down.” She shot up and plopped a party hat on his head. “Now c’mon, Mondy! We have a party to party!”  
Raymond was suddenly dragged right back down the stairs, through an open doorway, and into the midst of dancing and chating ponies. The party seemed to have started up without him, which was fair enough. What would you do during those two awkward minutes of waiting for the party recipient to return?  
“Alright, everypony,” Pinkie yelled over the music the DJ was playing. “Ray’s here, so now it’s really time to party!!!”  
The crowd cheered in response and the music in the room turned up by about a hundred decibels. Raymond slapped an uneasy smile on his face as he hesitantly walked into the room. There was really no hiding in the crowd as he was almost four feet taller than everypony, and that gained him a lot of unwanted attention. After only about a minute of awkwardly standing around, watching the party unfold, the song changed into a more upbeat tune. Before he knew what was happening, he found himself pushed into the center of a circle of ponies.  
“Dance Ray! Dance,” Pinkie shouted springing above the crowd of ponies watching him. He gulped, unsure of what to do. This was more than he had bargained for when he’d agreed to join the party.  
“I don’t know how,” he yelled back. Like a cannon going off- actually, she might’ve launched herself out of one with how quick she came- she shot into the middle of the circle. She had that slap happy smile on her face as she simply shouted, “Then I guess I’ll hafta just teach you!”  
She stood onto her back two hooves, an impressive feat on its own, and bent her forelegs, swinging them back and forth. “Like this,” she instructed. Ray copied her moves, slouching a little so he could hear her better over the blaring sound boxes. He heard some ponies laugh at his off center dancing. He was pretty sure that he looked like a spasticated monkey running in place, and for some reason, he wasn’t bothered by this.   
Let them laugh. He was a human, futher mucker, and he was going to enjoy this night as much as he could. He actually began to laugh with his pink pony partner, and the song flew by in a blur of laughter and smiles.   
“Going for another round, Ray,” Pinkie questioned as the song ended. She stretched her hoof out in a beckoning motion.  
“Nah,” he said, feeling slightly more comfortable about joining the party. “I think I’m just gonna mingle. Ya know?”  
Pinkie nodded, and just continued with her strange dancing as ponies began to fill in the circle. Ray walked away, towards one of the concession stands in the corner of the room. Along the way, he had to keep answering pony’s questions about what he was and how he got here. He decided to use the story Twilight had given him, since it seemed the most plausible.   
When he finally arrived, he examined his options. The stand bore several different colored cupcakes, some of them looking like they were made of more than frosting and pastry.There was a very real possibility that one of them had cilantro in it, based on the smell emitting from it. He decided to grab a peachy brown colored one with red frosting and green sprinkles. He wasn’t sure if he entirely trusted it, but decided balls deep was the way to go.  
He closed his eyes and rammed the cupcake in his mouth and chewed it quickly. Ray tried not to gag too loud as the unholy combination of apple and chili pepper filled his mouth. He swallowed as quickly as he could without choking as raucous, tomboyish laughter erupted from behind him. He turned to find Rainbow Dash flying behind him smirking at his plight. In her hooves were two plastic cups, somehow held despite her lack of any fingers.  
Come to think of it, how did ponies go about everyday life if they didn’t have fingers? It’s not like it’d be hard to replace handles with… um, hoof handles for most things, and he was sure that unicorns could use magic as such, but what about the other species? How did they write if they couldn’t grasp their pens? And what about software use, if they even had that.  
They had electricity and some form of computer software in order to have the lights that brightened the room. There also had to be some sort of radiological work in order for there to be microwaves, since that required radioactivity magic. There were also refrigerators, which had to mean some other technological stuff he didn’t understand. Who knew? Maybe somewhere, in a dark back alley of Equestria, there were even guns being sold. After all, Pinkie had a cannon.  
Ray felt his tongue burning. Right, disgusting cupcake. Rainbow shoved one of the cups into his hand, and said, “Drink this, it’ll help.”  
Ray eagerly took the proffered cup, taking a large swig of the drink. It tingled a little in his mouth, so he figured that it was carbonated slightly to give it more of a kick. It tasted like a sharper version of apple juice, but also had a dulled out hint to it, like someone had left it out a little too long. It was warm in his throat, and so good that Ray finished the entire cup with a long drag. He smacked his lips as he finished, turning to Rainbow.  
“What was that?”  
“Cider,” she responded, before pointing to the cupcakes. “That was one of Pinkie’s infamous party pastries. Every party, she makes some for those weirdos that actually like them, or, in this case, to prank the newcomer. She personally taste-tests each one she makes to be sure it doesn’t poison anypony.”  
“I think her testing is a bit faulty. That, and her taste buds must be shot from taste-testing that.” Rainbow guffawed and slapped Ray on the back, although slapped was a strong word for it. More like a heavy tap on the back. Ray gave her a smile, then asked, “So where are the actual concessions?”  
“The Apple’s stand,” she said, pointing towards another concession stand where a familiar orange pony stood. “AJ always makes sure that some edible food is brought to a party. If you want more cider, there’s a barrel over there.”  
He followed her hoof to the corner by the closet, where a pony-size barrel stood against the wall. Nodding his head in acknowledgement, he strode over to it and filled his plastic cup with the frothy liquid. He chugged the cup down and walked over to the other corner, right by the DJ’s booth, where the Apple’s stand was.   
“Howdy, partner,” Apple Jack called as Ray approached. She grabbed an apple fritter off the table and extended it to him. “Have one a’ these. Saw ya had a little mishap with one a’ Pinkie’s ‘party cupcakes.’”  
“Thanks,'' he said, bending down slightly to grab it. He ate the entire pastry in one bite, letting the sticky, sweet flavor of apples and cinnamon float in his mouth before swallowing. Apple Jack smiled in approval.  
“Ya look like ya got somethin’ ya wanna say to me,” she stated with a knowing smile.  
“Yeah,” Ray said, sitting down by the pony and squeezing into the corner so that he was out of the way. “I was wondering, do you work on a farm or something”  
“Why yes I do,” she exclaimed proudly. “Sweet Apple Acres, to be exact. Why?”  
“Well, I was thinking that I need a job so I can pay to keep my stomach full,” he said. He rubbed the back of his head, slightly nervous. He’d had his fair share of job interviews, at least for his age. They were usually more formal than asking to have any job he could during a party. But this was a different dimension without any other humans in it, so it was probably different in the regard of job interviews. Hopefully. “And I figured that if you worked on a farm, you could use a hand with the work there.”  
“So yer offerin’ me yer services, eh,” she said, thoughtfully rubbing her chin with a hoof. She gave him an assuring smile and said, “We always need a hoof at the farm, and zap apple season’s right around th’ corner, so I’ll take ya up on that offer. Given, I’ll hafta make sure that Big Mac knows about this, lest he bucks ya into next week fer trespassin’, but’cha got yerself a deal.”  
Ray let out a sigh of relief. “Thanks again,” he said, before holding up an empty cup. “I’m gonna go get another cup of cider. The stuff’s amazing.”  
Apple Jack nodded in agreement. “Family made,” the pony said proudly. Ray huh’d as he turned and walked over to the barrel getting another cup of the delicious liquid. He leaned against the wall, sipping his cup and letting that warmness spread as song after song played.   
After three, a sea green pony with a turquoise mane and tail walked up to him, a camera around her neck. Her Cutie Mark featured two rectangles with green jewels overlapping each other, and he realized they had to be slides. He gave her a welcoming smile as she walked up to him, an excited air about her.  
“Hello,” she greeted in a singsong voice. “My name’s Emerald Joy, Secretary and Archive Keeper of Ponyville. I’m supposed to record any significant happenings that go on here, and I figure that a foreign creature moving here is pretty significant. Mind if I take your picture?”  
“Not at all,” he responded, smiling for the camera. It snapped, and Ray rubbed his cheeks. He hadn’t smiled so much in one day since… well he couldn’t even remember. It was strange that in one day, he’d been the most depressed, saddest, and happy he’d been in years.   
“Thanks,” the pony said, looking down at her camera as she inspected the photo. He gave her a little half smile as she looked back up at him and asked, “Mind if I ask you a few questions,”  
“Not at all.”   
Five minutes, two cups of cider, and a song later, the pony walked away happily, humming an unknown tune. Ray felt a soft smile cross his face as he watched the room, leaning against the wall. All of these ponies were here for him. Actually, with the amazing cider , awesome music, and fun dancing, maybe not. Still, it was nice not to be alone for the rest of the day. Speaking of amazing cider…   
Ray turned to get another cup. As he did so, his eyes found two familiar figures in the crowd. Rarity and Fluttershy stood in the only unoccupied corner of his dining room, talking. He filled his cup and walked over to the two. As he neared, he could hear their argument.  
“...but darling, you have the voice of a songbird,” Rarity complained.  
“And the heart of one,” Fluttershy shot back. “I’m not doing any karaoke, and that’s final.”  
“Don’t songbirds want to share their songs,” Ray questioned, joining the conversation. Fluttershy jumped into the air with a tiny yelp, turning to him with a shy look over her shoulder. Rarity, who had probably seen him coming, smiled up at him, before grimacing at his chest area. He looked down to see if any food or cider or foo had gotten on his shirt, but found none.  
“It’s just you, Ray,” Fluttershy said, her voice filled with relief. He gave her a small smile.  
“Mind if I join in,” he asked.  
“Oh why not at all, darling,” Rarity exclaimed. Fluttershy flew over a little so Ray could stand beside her. “We were just having a friendly little chat about how Fluttershy here should try out a round of karaoke.”  
“It’s not going to happen, Rarity,” the pink pegasus insisted, looking down at the ground. She looked up at Ray and asked brightly, “What did you want to talk about.”  
“I don’t know, actually,” he admitted, taking a sip from his cup. “I saw some familiar faces in the crowd and gravitated towards them.” He looked back down at the ponies with a guilty smile. “Guess I’m just a little shy when it comes to getting to know people. Or ponies in this case.”  
“Oh, that’s okay,” Fluttershy assured, giving him a pretty little smile. “I know I get scared in large crowds.”  
“I can deal with it no longer,” Rarity suddenly exclaimed, startling both the human and pegasus. Ray had forgotten that the pearly white unicorn was there. “That ensamble simply won’t do. Come over to my shop tomorrow, and I will measure you up and assemble a new wardrobe for you. Those clothes Discord gave you are dreadfully representative of him, and that just can’t be.”  
“Um, okay,” he agreed, not completely sure how to respond to the sudden outburst. Instead, he opted to change the subject. “Speaking of Discord, where is he? I figure he would be here, since parties naturally spell chaos of some sort.”  
“He’s asleep right now,” Fluttershy answered. “He fell asleep around two, I think.”  
“Why so soon? I mean, it’s not like he would have a job or anything right?”  
“Oh no,” she said, shaking her head. “It’s just that, since he’s the Lord of Chaos, he falls asleep whenever his body decides. The same goes with waking up. In fact, not two weeks ago, Discord and I were having our weekly tea, when he suddenly fell asleep in the tea cakes! I had to try to wake him up long enough to get him home. He slept for three days afterward.”  
Ray chuckled, sipping his cup of cider once again as he reached up to scratch the side of his head. That did sound like quite the problem to have. Imagine falling asleep during a funeral, and waking up to angry family members asking how one could be so rude. Or falling asleep during finals, and waking up to an F. Actually, that one made him cringe. That would suck.  
He looked down at Fluttershy, who was staring intently at Ray’s arm. His wrist to be exact. Ray followed her gaze to his wrist, finding a long cut there, right where he had intended to cut. He hadn’t realized that the cut had been so deep, or so close, for that matter. Just a couple more centimeters, and it would have all been over, whether he had meant to or not.  
“Ray, what happened there,” the sweet pony asked, worry filling her voice. He struggled to come up with a plausible excuse as she tried to read his face. Her brows furrowed in concern as she found something he didn’t want her to see. She tilted her head and put a hoof on his shoulder. “You didn’t do that to yourself, did you?”  
Finding he couldn’t lie to the buttercream pegasus, he raised the cup back to his lips, looking straight forward. He could practically see her through the plastic that was intentionally blocking his vision, and promptly began to drink the remaining cider as an excuse for his silence. However, due to the fact that he’d already drunk half the cup, and the cups were made for ponies, he quickly ran out of beverage to drink. After a solid minute of drinking nothing, Ray caved in on his ridiculous act, lowering the cup.   
When he did, he found Fluttershy directly in front of his face. She was giving him probably the most commanding look he’d ever had used on him in his life. It was a cross between a glare and a “mother’s stare”, which, despite Ray’s best efforts, unnerved him. He tried to look away desperately, but found that he couldn’t tear his eyes away from hers. Her stare was growing stronger by the second as her eyebrows became more and more angular. After several seconds of the stare, Ray let out a short, annoyed sigh.  
He looked in either direction to make sure none of the ponies were close enough to hear him over the music, before saying, “C’mon.”   
He grabbed her closest foreleg and pulled her after him, across the room to the door to the stairs. Opening it quickly, he rushed up the stairs, Fluttershy in tow. Turning left in the hall, he rushed into his room, slamming the door. He wasn’t actually sure what he was doing, but he knew that he didn’t want everypony to know exactly what he was about to say.  
Turning to the now confused pegasus, he began speaking. “I’m not what I look like,” he explained, heading across the room to sit on his plush bed. “I didn’t have a happy life back in my home. I put myself into a cage to pay back for the things I’ve done. I tried to protect my family from many things. One of the most dangerous was me.  
“When I was born, my parents had to quit college to pay for and take care of me. When my sister came along, they knew that they wouldn’t be able to go back to college. When six more kids came, I realized fully what I’d done to my family. I’d taken away my parents' shot at a happy life.   
“By the time I was eleven, I realized something. I had damned my parents to a hell in life. To make up for it, I swore that my siblings would have the life of their dreams. I damned myself to hell in life so that my siblings had heaven that I never would’ve deserved.  
“It was a year later, when I had time to think, that I realized I was pointless. I was only another mouth to feed, my share of money barely enough to get groceries for the family. I realized that if I’d never been born-” Ray’s voice cracked- “then my family wouldn’t be stuck on the road to destruction.”  
Ray felt something warm brush his cheek, and, without moving his head, glanced over to see Fluttershy nuzzling his cheek. Taking a deep breath to stop himself from sobbing, he continued.  
“I became even more determined to do something, anything, to help my family. I had picked up some… unlawful work, and that began to improve my income, and even living standards. It all toppled down however. Then, today happened.  
“I don’t know if Twilight told you, but I was supposed to die today. I would’ve been hit by a car, and just like that, my life would’ve been over. Pointless, without even fulfilling my one true purpose. My family would fall apart without me, some of them killing themselves, and it would’ve been all my fault.  
“I was thinking about it in the shower today. I was pointless in one life, a life that I had cheated my way into, so why would this life be any different. I wanted it all to be over, to just be done with the pain and sorrow and suffering. I wanted to just float away, forgotten. But in that moment where I was holding that razor against my wrist, I couldn’t do it. I would’ve, and a part of me still says I should. But then a thought came to me.  
“Initially, I thought of disregarding what Twilight had told me, about the war invasion. I thought that I would just enjoy the extra year of life I had. When I was holding the blade that could end it all, I realized what Twilight had unintentionally done for me.” There was a brief silence before Ray continued.   
“She’d given me a chance. Now, life could actually mean something other than the monotonous hell I was putting myself through. I could finally do something. I could fight, not for Twilight, but for my own damned soul. I could save a world that had shown me it’s lightest and darkest sides in just minutes, or die trying.”  
Ray stopped his rant, staring blankly at the white door. He heard a sniff come from his left, and felt wetness through the fabric of his shirt. Turning, he found a teary- eyed Fluttershy looking at him. As soon as he had turned, she threw herself around his neck, sobbing. Ray gently patted the pony on the back as he felt his own tears come on. He knew that he had confronted himself about it in the shower, but saying it out loud finally made him feel better about his decision. Now he had audibly made his decision, and he would stick to it through thick and thin.  
“I’m so sorry you’ve had to go through all of that,” Fluttershy wailed. “No pony should have to go through what you’ve had to. It just isn’t right. To me, you’re perfect the way you are. I hope you know that.”  
Ray smiled softly and gave the pony a small squeeze. “Yeah,” he muttered, “I do.”   
They sat like that for a while, Fluttershy holding him around his neck and nuzzling him lightly. He rubbed her back as newer thoughts, happier thoughts, filled his head. If most ponies were like Fluttershy, then he would have a happy life here, even if it was short. There were so many things to be had here, too. With the way these ponies had almost instantly accepted him here, he felt more at home than on Earth. Finally, Fluttershy pulled back to look him in the eyes.  
“If you ever need to talk, then you can always come to my cottage to talk,” she assured. “I don’t ever want you to feel like that again, you hear?”  
Ray nodded, his soft smile growing slightly brighter. “I don’t even know where you live,” he teased. This made the pegasus’ cheeks flush red and look at the ground. Ray chuckled before saying, “Don’t worry, I’ll find my way around Ponyville soon enough.”  
Before Fluttershy could respond, there was a loud banging on the door, followed by Rainbow Dash yelling, “Ray, open this door now before I bust it down.”  
“The door’s unlocked,” he yelled back, quirking an eyebrow in confusion. A second later, the door burst open and a rainbow streak sped into Ray, hitting him squarely in the stomach and knocking the breath out of him. Despite Rainbow being four times smaller than him, the force of the encounter pushed Ray across the bed. When his vision returned to him, along with his breath, he found the pegasus sitting on his chest, glaring down on him. “What the-”  
“Oh no you don’t,” Rainbow shouted, pointing an accusing hoof at Ray’s nose. “I don’t want any of your excuses! You aren’t layin’ a hoof on Fluttershy tonight!”  
“Rainbow Dash,” Fluttershy shouted, sounding flustered. “That’s not what was going on here! We were just talking!”  
“What are you two talking about,” Ray asked, the whole situation catching Ray off guard. He wasn’t really sure why Rainbow was suddenly lighting up like a Christmas tree. “What’s going on here.”  
He sat up as Rainbow sheepishly climbed off of him, just in time to see a breathless Rarity charge into the room. Her fur was orange and damp on her face, and her makeup was smeared on her face.   
“Rainbow Dash, leave them be,” she cried out, grabbing the pony with her magic.   
“Somebody please tell me what’s goin’ on,” Ray said as the unicorn began tugging the cyan pegasus out of the room.  
Rainbow opened her mouth, but then shut it as a bright blush lit her face even more. Finally, after Rarity noticed that Rainbow was about to say something and set her back down, she said, “Well, I saw you dragging Fluttershy away from the party, and went after you to stop you. Other than, Rarity stopped me, which only made me more suspicious. She said the two of you were talking, and that made me even more suspicious, because nopony misses out on Pinkie’s parties.”  
“She’s right,” Pinkie agreed, making everyone jump at her sudden appearance. “Everypony knows my parties are the best in Ponyville. Anyway, you were saying?”  
Rainbow took a breath to prepare herself to tell them what she’d thought was going on, and also possibly to recover from Pinkie’s jump scare. “I also saw that you’d had six cups of cider, so I figured that you thought you could get lucky with Flutters. I mean, three cups of cider is usually enough alcohol to get me pretty tipsy, so I thought you were straight whacked out.”  
Ray’s eyes widened as he realized exactly what Rainbow Dash was implying. He looked over at poor Fluttershy, who was using her wings and hooves to cover her beet red face. Turning back to the others, he blurted out, “I’m only fourteen!”  
“What?!” All three ponies at the door stood in shock at the door. Rainbow instantly went purple in the face as Rarity turned to give her an “I told you so” look, for what, he didn’t know.   
“You’re underage,” Pinkie pie shrieked, placing her forehooves on the sides of her head as she stood on her hindlegs. “That means you shouldn’t’ve had the cider. And I was the one that brought it. Which means you drinking is my fault, which means I’ll lose my party license!”  
The pink pony began to hyperventilate as she stumbled backwards, passing out. Rarity smacked herself with a hoof in the pony equivalent of a face palm. She simply said, “Girls, I believe that the party has gone on long enough, and since the main orchestrator is currently out of commision, I think we should end it.”  
“I agree,” Rainbow nodded, looking awkward in the room. She raced out of the room after Rarity, who was carrying Pinkie in her magical grasp, leaving Ray once again alone with Fluttershy. The poor pony was tucking her wings back against her sides, her face still beet red.  
“I-I’m s-sorry about Rainbow Dash,” she stammered, refusing to meet Ray’s eyes. Not that he wanted her to, as he could still feel the remains of a blush on his cheeks. “She’s a-always been protective of me, even though I’m two years older than her.” Ray could hear the smile in her voice as she continued. “She didn’t have any siblings, so when she saw me at her flight camp, she took me in.” The smile left her. “I wasn’t any good at flying when I was young, so I was a level lower than my age. Rainbow’s the fastest flier in Equestria, so she was a level above her age. Two misfits sticking together. That’s what she called it.”  
Ray felt a soft smile tugging at his lips. This pony, though. Fluttershy looked up and saw his smile and returned it with her own. “I think we should head downstairs now. It’ll be suspicious if we don’t.”  
“You go first,” Ray insisted. Laying back on the bed. His bed. Jeez, this was going to be hard to keep track of. “If we came down together, after spontaneous disappearance and being chased, rumors would fly. Unwanted attention.”  
Fluttershy nodded in understanding as she left the room. Ray waited several minutes, listening to the sound of the music turning off and the door opening and closing dozens of times. The house seemed to be large for one person, but, in reality, it was quite small. The walls also seemed to be thin, which meant he could hear some murmuring through the walls. After what seemed like a reasonable amount of time, he ventured back downstairs.  
He found it completely intact, as if it hadn’t been changed at all from when he’d first gotten into the shower. His jaw dropped as he inspected the clean manner his house had been left in. There wasn’t even a sprinkle on the floor to hint the amazing party that had just happened. That is, amazing until Fluttershy had worried her pretty little head about him. Ray frowned.  
He should’ve just told her not to concern herself about him. It would’ve been so much easier, but there was just an enchanting way about her that had seduced him into talking to her. Her calm, kind demeanor and large, watery eyes had demanded him to tell her everything, and he unwittingly had. Now she knew more about him than any of his siblings had. He sighed, trying to come up with an excuse as to why he had spilled everything -scratch that- most everything to her. It was just too much to handle. This day was too much to handle.  
“So,” a voice suddenly said to his right. “Ya just gonna mope around like that all day?”  
Turning in alarm, he found Apple Jack casually leaning against the open doorway into the kitchen. She smirked at his jumpiness, pushing her hat up so she could see him better. Ray released a breath, relief that it was only his employer.   
“What’re you doin’ here,” he asked. “Not that I mind, but all the others seemed to have left, and I figured that everyone meant everyone.”  
“Oh, ‘s a’right,” she responded with a toothy grin. “I was just down here while all the others were… up in yer room? Anyhow, I kept business goin’ down here while y’all were talking, so I reckoned I could just stay a tad longer to ask why. Fluttershy especially seemed… flustered. Mind tellin’ me?”  
Ray grimaced. “Y-y… yeah. Fluttershy had some questions for me that I didn’t wish to answer… publicly. Please don’t ask. I told her things I wish I hadn’t. Anyway, Rainbow had seen us going upstairs, and thought that I was trying to… b-bed with her.”  
He winced at how bad that sounded and waited for a kick in the shins, but when he didn’t receive one, continued. “Then it became a whole fiasco where we were tryin’ to explain what was going on, and it ended with Pinkie passing out because I’m only fourteen and had six cups of cider, which apparently alcoholic.”  
Apple Jack stumbled as she lost her balance. “Yer only fourteen?!”  
Ray gave her a tight smile. “Yup.”   
“Well hot diggity,” she muttered. She glanced behind her, a mischievous glint in her eye as she turned back to him. “I think I should leave now. Wouldn’t want th’ poor poor boy ta miss his bedtime.”  
Ray gave the orange pony a flat stare as she trudged out of his house, chuckling on the way. Glancing at the stovetop clock, he saw it read 8:17. “Not even that late,” he grumbled to himself. As if to prove him otherwise, he yawned. “‘Parently still tired though. Has been a heckuva dat though.”  
He shook his head. These ponies were already purifying him. Hopefully not too much though. They’d need a monster to win this war.


	8. The Day After

Chapter 8 “The Day After”

Ray spent the next five minutes blankly wandering around his new house, trying to familiarize himself with the place. In one of the side drawers to his writing desk, he found a calendar and a neat stack of paper. The calendar was flipped to July, with the second Sunday of the month circled and captioned “today”. He believed that Twilight had something to do with it, as she had said that she had commissioned the house.  
Come to think about it, he was trusting her word quite a lot. Given the fact that she had lied to those who appeared to be her best friends, he could be playing right into her hand. Then again, she hadn’t lied to him about anything as of yet, which meant that she at least wasn’t playing him. Maybe. Either way, he’d have to keep the lavender unicorn at arms length.  
He took a better inspection of his food stock, and spent a good amount of time calculating just how much he actually had. As it turned out, he had food set for almost a month, with all of the foods failing to expire for two weeks. This was great news, only made slightly dimmer by the lack of any meat in his fridge. He guessed it made sense, but still, he would miss good ol’ hamburgers. By the time he was finished, it was nearing nine o’clock. At home, he would still have three and a half hours on his night shift, but here, he was free to actually sleep.  
He took advantage of this unique opportunity and headed up the stairs to his room. He made sure to lock the door on his way in, as he wasn’t completely sure that the townspeople- ponies, he’d have to try to adjust to their speech- would throw a “First Night in Town” party.  
He stripped his clothing off, down to his boxers, and spent the next fifteen minutes trying to figure out the mechanics of his clock. He finally figured out how to set an alarm, setting it to go off at 6:15 so he would have time to get to the farm at seven. Apple Jack hadn’t told him when to be there, but he figured early in the morning would be the most appropriate. Besides, it also allowed him some early morning time to himself.  
After setting the alarm, he climbed into the plush bed, pulling the sheets over him. The bed was incredibly warm, the hoof-stitched quilts heavy enough to hold him down, but light enough to allow small movement. He scooted to the middle of the bed, since there wouldn’t be any siblings tucking in with him. They had done that on occasion, when they had had nightmares or were scared of the noises outside. Now, he missed the feelings of protectiveness and brotherly love as they cuddled with him.  
He stared straight up at the ceiling, thinking. Not of anything in particular, really, but just wondering. He wondered if there was a universe out there that was peaceful, where life thrived without threat. Here had seemed like the place, but recent revelations had proved otherwise. He chuckled as he thought of the most innocent world possible. It would be inhabited by neon colored squirrels that had more fur than body, and hopped around on their poofy tails. The image died away all too soon.  
That place couldn’t exist, wouldn’t exist. Solemnly, he remembered something he had once read. Humanity had only improved to do two things: create, and destroy. They had made weapons, originally to kill animals better for more food, but those had been turned on themselves. Weapons had evolved to make killing each other easier, leading to the deaths of hundreds of millions. They had made cars, which saved time and made travelling easier and safer, yet those killed tens of thousands every year. Had it not been for Twilight, Ray would have joined the masses.  
Ray attempted to close his eyes, but found that the move was blocked by another thought. He had agreed to fight a war. He struggled to comprehend exactly what he had volunteered to do, since the worst fight he'd gotten into…  
“Dammit,” he muttered, turning over in bed. Why did this always happen when he thought about… them. Who were they? Where were they? Were they even real? Muttering a viler string of curses, he got out of bed. It wasn’t like he would get sleep anyways, with this train of loudly rolling through his head.  
He walked over to the curtainless window, staring out into the night sky. Thousands of tiny sparks floated in the sky, blinking down at him. He wondered if they knew about his plight, his story. He wondered if they cared. Back at home, light pollution had prevented him from being able to see so many stars, as only the brightest shone through. Now even the dimmest could be seen.  
He sighed, leaning his head against the windowsill as he watched the stars. The moon, though only a thin crescent tonight, shone brightly. Tracing the stars with his gaze, Ray realized that the constellations here weren’t all that different from the ones back on Earth. He found both Ursas, along with their designated Dippers, and the Orion, although it took a more pegasus structure. This world really wasn’t so bad, come to think of it. Maybe some of the things in it, but no, this world was alright…

Wake Up!! Wake Up!! Wake Up!! Wake-SLAM!!

Ray smacked the blaring alarm clock off of the desk as he fell out of bed. He must’ve gotten into it sometime last night, but he couldn’t really remember doing so. Hastily putting on the only pair of clothes he had, he rushed into the bathroom to do his business. Coming back out, he made his bed and placed the alarm back in its place, turning the alarm volume down so he wouldn’t be woken in the same manner as this morning.  
Rushing downstairs, he went to the cabinet he had mentally labelled “bread n’ crap”, and grabbed a bagel. He figured that when he got more accustomed to the town, he wouldn’t really need to be in such a rush, but for now, speed was a necessity. Eating the bagel without anything else on top, he went back upstairs to find a toothbrush. Finishing the bagel in three bites, he found a toothbrush and toothpaste quickly in the closet. He figured that it was probably best to not arrive at his new job with morning breath, especially since ponies had better smell than humans. At least, he thought.  
By the time he was done, it was 6:25. Running out of the door, he began jogging down the dirt path towards the town. The early morning air was crisp and cool, a light breeze brushing through his hair as he ran. He smiled as he picked up his pace going down a hill, and crossing a bridge that ran over a deep blue river. It was relaxing to just watch the green scenery pass as he ran, giving him a general sense of tranquility. For a moment, he even forgot he was in another world.  
He had only left Pittsburg once, to visit his grandmother’s grave in Harrisburg. The space between the two cities was green and lightly wooded in some places, far different from the almost random placement of skyscrapers in the city. He had longed to go out there again, to feel the openness and freedom of the outdoors, to breath in and not to taste the stench of burning gasoline.  
Now, as he ran back up the gently sloping, he took in the fresh, open air. Reaching the top of the hill, the path took an unexpected turn, leaving him running through ankle-high grass. Eh, he thought, screw the path. Three seconds later, his foot caught an unexpected spot of mud, causing him to slip and fall into the soft grass. Sharp pricks of cold nipped at his skin from wherever the dew-sprinkled grass poked his skin. He came to a stop a couple of feet later, facedown in the ground, the taste of dirt in his mouth.  
“Beautiful,” a mocking voice called from above, accompanied by the sound of flapping wings. “Didn’t know you were so graceful, Ray.”  
Muttering a very impolite string of curses into the ground regarding the cyan pegasus above him, he rolled over. He found Rainbow Dash smirking at him, holding out a hoof to help him up. Returning the smirk, he took the proffered hoof and pulled, resulting in the mare being pulled into the ground. Ray laughed as the pegasus fell face first into the ground. Luckily, for the both of them, they weren’t in the mud patch.  
She came up with a sheepish grin. “I shoulda realized that was gonna happen,” she lamented, rubbing the back of her head with a hoof. “What’cha doin’ out here, this early?”  
“I’m lookin’ for the farm,” he responded as the pony launched herself back into the sky. “I have a job there. Wanted to arrive as early as I could.”  
“Nice,” she said, pointing across the town. “Just that way. At town center, there’ll be four roads: the one you’re on -the northwestern- one and each other one leading northeast, southeast, and southwest. Take the southwest one, and it’ll lead you straight to Sweet Apple Acres. Although,” a mischievous glint entered her eye, “are you sure you’re old enough to work yet?”  
Ray flipped her off as he stood, a gesture that didn’t go unnoticed by Rainbow. “Whazzat mean,” she asked.  
“It’s a human thing,” he grumbled. “Means F you.”  
As he turned to enter town, he heard her say, “Only if you want to.”  
“Yeah, whatev-,” Ray did a double take, turning back to the cyan pegasus, who began roaring with laughter. “What did you just say?”  
“Only if you want to,” she replied with a smirk. Ray shook his head, turning away as the pegasus once again began laughing, jogging away. After only a moment, she caught up with him, flying beside him at the same pace he was jogging. Turning his head so that he could see both her and the dirt path, he asked, “What’re you doin’?”  
“I wanna race ya,” she cried. “First to the farm wins!”  
“Nah,” he denied, “I think I should save my strength for work.”  
“That’s disappointing,” she said as they entered the town square on a bridge over a small stream. Stalls and booths were set up on either side of the road, although most of them were empty. He attributed this to the early hour, though the few ponies that were there gave him strange looks. Probably just wondering what the frick I am, why I’m in their town, and if I would like a bouquet of roses, or lilies, he thought to himself.  
“Hey,” Rainbow suddenly exclaimed, cutting into his thoughts. “What about after your work?”  
“Eh,” he responded. “I’m supposed to go over to Rarity’s shop to get new clothes and crap. After that, Fluttershy said I should go over to hers for tea. If I can find it.”  
“Hopin’ to get under her tail,” Rainbow asked, her signature smirk plastered on her face. She tsked, before mock scolding him. “You shouldn’t be gettin’ into relationships so soon.”  
“You’ve gotta be the most vulgar pony to ever exist,” Ray groaned as he turned down the path that Rainbow had said would lead to the orchard. Rainbow laughed at that, flying in front of him so he could see her face.  
“Would you believe me if I told you I was a twenty one year old virgin,” she questioned.  
“Not even if you said you were twelve,” he snorted as he entered the grove. He was now surrounded by neat rows of apple trees, looking ripe for the plucking. Apple Jack had said harvest season was near. Or zap apple, whatever those were. Looking around at the lush green trees, he couldn’t help but wonder how any amount of ponies could raise and keep track of so many trees. It was beyond him. Suddenly, barely ten feet away, he saw a large, vine covered gateway with a simple apple covering on it, a wooden slat hanging from it.  
“Guess that’s my cue,” Rainbow said, noticing the white fencing and largening clearing. She flew up and off in another direction as Ray slowed down enough to stop without crashing into the gate. The most surprising thing about stopping was that he didn’t feel nearly fatigued enough for running so long. It wasn’t that he had run far, barely a mile by his estimations, but he had run pretty fast, through hills nonetheless, and was barely panting.  
Ducking down so he didn’t hit his head on the gateway, he let himself in. Taking in his surroundings, he saw there was a large homestead in the center of the clearing that must’ve been where the family lived. A large portion of the red building seemed to be a barn, which was fair enough, since they would need a large storage space for their crops. The entire structure had a faded white border, and every window had a little flower garden outside of it. The roof was made of a light purple wood, the entire structure topped off with a little windpointer. Instead of the top of it being a tin chicken, a pink apple, which seemed fitting.  
To the right of the house, a decent vegetable garden was growing. Ray could see stalks of corn ready for the plucking, tomato vines with fat, red tomatoes hidden among the leaves, and what looked like overly large weeds sprung from the ground. To the houses left was a small chicken coop- he could tell by the sign hanging from it. Hay bales and large piles of hay were strewn all over the place in large piles, giving the space a more used feeling. In the distance, he could see the hills behind the homestead were also covered with apple trees. Four smaller red buildings also provided extra storage, so far as he could tell.  
Beside him was a cobbled well with several wooden barrels beside it. Behind the four extra buildings was a secondary white gate that led directly to the apple orchard. He struggled to keep his jaw from dropping to the floor at the immensity of the farm, and he knew he was probably missing out on at least some proportions. Shaking his head, he refocused on what he was here to do, and began searching the area for his orange pony employer.  
After a closer look, he saw a peach tail sticking out of an open barn door, and began walking over. The dirt in the cleared area was soft and wet, failing to kick up any dust as he made his way to the barn. The sun had barely risen over the hills at this point, and if he had to guess, it was a quarter to seven. Early.  
However, when he turned into the barn, he was greeted not by welcoming comments, but by four pairs of glaring eyes. One of them belonged to a familiar pony, the other three unfamiliar. One of them was a large red stallion with the same color mane and tail as Apple Jack’s fur, his booty mark a green apple with a slice taken out of it. He was giving him a chilling look over that made Ray shrink. The pony beside him, a pink unicorn with a curly grape mane and tail, was giving him a heated glare that made him feel like he’d done something bad. Her cutie mark was a cupcake with sprinkles around it.  
And then there was the smallest one. She was giving him a disappointed, angry little glare with her bottom lip sticking out at him. Her hair was strawberry like the tall stallion’s fur and her coat was peachy yellow like AJ’s mane and tail. Her eyes were full of rage, like he’d just stolen her ice cream, and he immediately felt like he had to beg her forgiveness for whatever misdeed he’d done. How could he have dared disappoint such a cute being.  
“Ya finally decided to show up,” Apple Jack said, bringing Ray’s attention back to her. “Yer so late, we might as well have started harvest season early so we could get some work done ‘round here.”  
“Yup,” the stallion agreed. His voice was deep, like a bass drum that had learned to speak.  
“We’ve been waiting for you so long,” the unicorn mare added, “that my cupcakes have probably burned!”  
“Yeah,” the littlest one chimed, turning to Apple Jack. “you said he was trustworthy.”  
“Well I thought he was,” the mare said, her brows falling deeper. “‘Parently I was wrong.”  
Ray’s eyes widened as he took a step back from the intensity of the four pony’s glares. “I-I didn’t know what time to come,” he stammered. “We never set up a time, s-so I figured I would just come around at seven. It seemed early enough.”  
“Well ya thought wrong,” Apple Jack yelled,her ear flicking in anger, making Ray wince. How had he really been so wrong? He hung his head in shame as he turned to leave, when he suddenly heard snickering behind him. Turning around, he saw a smile peeking out behind Apple Jack’s hoof. Looking around, he saw that the same story was playing out on the other three’s faces. Without even a moment of confusion, he pinched the bridge of his nose.  
“Prank,” he asked.  
“Prank,” Apple Jack confirmed, before guffawing with laughter. She was joined with what he assumed was her family, and begrudgingly, he joined in. When she had stopped, she spoke up. “Got’cha good, didn’t we?”  
Ray nodded. “That was really good,” he complimented. “I didn’t think you the pranking type. That seemed to be more of Rainbow Dash’s thing.”  
“I’m usually not th’ prankin’ type,” she responded with a wry grin, “but this was an opp’rtunity I just couldn’t ignore.”  
“Yeah,” the youngest one grumbled, looking up at the human. “An opp’rtunity so good she had us all awake n’ down here at five in th’ mornin’ so we could pull it.”  
“Ah, hush now, Apple Bloom,” Apple Jack said, turning over to the kid . “This just means y’all get that sleepover with th’ CMC ya’ve been pinin’ for.” She turned back to Ray with a grin. “Why don’t I give ya a tour of th’ farm before we get started? Just ta let’cha get ta know th’ place before ya start workin’ here full time.”  
“Sure,” he agreed. It wouldn’t really do to get lost here on his first day on the job. He followed the orange pony out of the barn, where she stopped and turned back to him.  
“Best if I introduce ya to th’ family first, though,” she said thoughtfully. She pointed to the large red stallion saying, “That there’s Big Macintosh, or Big Mac for short. He’s my older brother. Beside him’s his wife, Sugar Belle. Th’ little one’s my little sis Apple Bloom.” Apple Jack’s voice fell as she turned to one of the window sills, where a small headstone stood. “And that there’s Granny Smith. She passed away last month.”  
There was a moment of silence from the family as they seemed to take a moment to remember their deceased kin. “I’m sorry,” he muttered. After a brief moment of hesitation, he bent down and gently rubbed the top of her head. She stiffened slightly, before relaxing into it.  
“She raised us when Ma n’ Pa passed on,” she said to no one in particular. “Was always sweeter than the' jams she made us. Taught us better than any teacher could’ve. She had a good long life. She deserves peace.”  
Taking a deep breath, Apple Jack turned back to Ray and gave him a small smile. “Thanks fer that,” she said. With another deep breath, she turned away from the grave. “Might as well continue.”  
The tour was carried out with relative uneventfulness, and Ray tried to memorize every word that Apple Jack said. She also told him about Granny Smith’s history. How she had been one of the first settlers, how she had discovered zap apples, and how she had raised the Apple siblings. Every time Apple Jack began to become somber, he would rub her head to comfort her. She explained that zap apple season was a month before harvest season, which was a week after the traditional “Running of the Leaves”.  
The work he was supposed to do today wasn’t actually related to harvest season. Apple Jack explained to him that every four years, they cut down ten acres of trees, and replant them. This way, the older trees wouldn’t become rotten and spread diseases among the other, younger trees, and newer trees could grow. Then, they would cut it into firewood and sell the extra as profit to new tools for the next season of harvest. Today, his main focus was on the furthest section from the farm, which was now almost seventy years old. He, AJ, and Big Mac would all be cutting trees while Sugar Belle and Apple Bloom were preparing for the zap apples.  
When he actually got to it, the sun had now risen to the same level it had when he’d first been teleported to Ponyville. Talking a moment of solemn silence, he turned to the work he’d been given. The axe AJ had supplied him was the size of a hatchet in his hand, but it didn’t really affect his work. The trees, while maintaining the same size proportion that differed from his world’s, were still several feet taller than him. The bases were weak though, weaker than they were supposed to be even at their age, which wasn’t really that old in tree terms. Big Mac explained that it was from sixty five years of bucking, which made sense.  
Swinging his miniscule axe with as much force as he could muster, he splintered the surface of the wood. On average, he found that it took seven swings to take down the trees, as even though they had thick trunks, they were weak until the very center. He worked faster than his pony associates, since they had to use their mouths to hold the axes, which greatly detracted from the total force they exerted. This made Ray feel proud that he was able to work quicker than his own employer(s?).  
The work was relaxing, and he felt himself fall into a rhythm of chopping and dragging trees. His mind wandered away for a while, leaving him completely blank while he worked. There was a certain tranquility in his work, as he slowly began draining his energy into the trees he felled. Though he wouldn’t admit it out loud, he appreciated that none of the other ponies were close enough to converse with him. For the moment, it was just him in his own little world of swinging axes and falling trees.  
Absentmindedly, he began to hum some music from home to the rhythm of the axe hitting the tree. After several more trees, he began to regret humming, as it began to disturb his peaceful working. Usually while he was working like this, he would have his phone in his pocket, listening to his mixes. Out here, it was just him and his pubescent vocals, which were nothing pretty. He chuckled as he imagined trying to actually sing some of his favorite Fall Out Boy songs. Actually, he thought to himself, grunting as he swung his axe into another heavy hit, it wouldn’t really be that bad.  
Looking around quickly for anypony, he didn’t see anything living close enough to hear him. Slowly, he began to sing Centuries. Before he knew it, he was on the third verse, thinking about what song came next. Smiling as he finished the song, he switched to Light ‘Em Up, swinging in time to the rhythm. After what only seemed like a second, he began the next song, and the next and the next. Singing at the top of his lungs, he turned to the next tree, only to see a purple maned unicorn standing there.  
“You a singer,” Sugar Belle asked, causing Ray to blush in embarrassment.  
“Nah,” he admitted, looking down.  
The unicorn simply shrugged. “Could’ve fooled me,” she said with a kind smile. “Now come on. We’re taking a lunch break.”  
Ray followed Sugar Belle as she turned and began walking down a row of trees. He smiled as he looked around and saw the bright red fruit of the tree, ripe for the plucking, gleaming in the sun. As he caught up with her, he decided to start up some small talk with her.  
“So,” he began eloquently. “You don’t seem to be very concerned with the fact that I’m not exactly a pony. Why is that?”  
The pink pony giggled, before saying, “Well, before moving in with Big Mac, I lived in a village that had been taken over by a mare who took away everypony’s cutie marks so we could all be ''equal”. My older sister-in-law has saved Equestria about a dozen times and is one of the Elements, and my relationship with Mac was heavily influenced by the Lord of Chaos. I thought you were actually just some poor lost creature that Apple Jack was helping. I mean, I guess you could be some sort of reformed villain that AJ was helping out.” She bit down on her lip and looked up at Ray. “Are you a reformed villain?”  
“No,” Ray denied, chuckling at that. “I guess I am some sort of lost creature. This is only my second day in Equestria.”  
“So the music you were singing was from your country,” she concluded. “Where is it?”  
“O-oh,” he muttered. “It’s nonexistent.”  
“I’m sorry,” she said sweetly, looking like she didn’t know how to react to the news. Poor pony. She brightened up as they came out of the grove of trees to the back gate of the orchard. The others, including little Apple Bloom, were sitting on a picnic blanket, not unlike the one from yesterday. “Looks like we’re here. I made lunch cakes for everypony. Two for you, since I figured you’d have a bigger appetite.”  
“Thanks,” he said, his stomach suddenly speaking up in agreement.  
“Howdy, y’all,” Apple Bloom greeted, waving the two over. “You can sit by me, Mister Ray!”  
Ray smiled at the filly’s excitement, and sat in a criss-cross position by the little pony. Looking down at his arms, he was pleasantly surprised to find them tanned instead of sunburned, like his shoulders. It was probably the fact that his mom’s parents were Native Americans, since he usually tanned on less extreme days. It also was in no small part due to the fact that Equestria’s sun seemed to be weaker than Earth’s.  
Sugar Belle put a plate in front of him which carried two circular pastries on them. They were roughly the shape and size of his fist, with long strands of gold wrapping around the pastry. A sweet smell was emanating from it that made his stomach growl in anticipation. Grabbing the pastry, he took a bite from it, enjoying the texture and flavor as it took his mouth by force.  
The outside of the pastry was crunchy and virtually flavorless, like thin, saltless pretzels. The inside was gooey and sweet, with a distinguishable apple flavor to it. He hummed in appreciation, chewing quickly so he could get another bite in. He briefly worried about having bad manners, but quickly dismissed it as he saw that the Apple siblings were eating in much louder and messier manner than him.  
“Glad to see that you all like it,” Sugar Belle said, noting the other four’s ravenous eating.  
“Whatja make it wif, shish,” Apple Bloom asked with her cheeks bulging with an enormous bite of the sweet.  
“I mixed applesauce, flour, baking soda, a dash of salt, a little cinnamon, and some honey, then wrapped it with hay.”  
“Ah,” Ray said in sudden realization. “That explains the crunchy.”  
“Oh, sorry,” Sugar Belle apologized. “Is something wrong?”  
“No no,” he reassured, holding up a hand. “It’s just that we humans don’t actually eat hay. We replace it with…”  
He trailed off, not sure if he was completely comfortable with admitting the fact that humans were very much omnivores. The ponies seemed to understand, however, and let the topic be. They ate in silence for a while, allowing Ray to finish off his lunch before a conversation started up.  
“Ya know, Ray,” Apple Jack said, breaking the ice, “there’s still a lot we don’t know about you.”  
“I think I know less about you than you know about me,” he retorted lightly. “Sugar Belle told me that you were an Element and that you had saved Equestria some dozen times. Mind clarifying?”  
Before he knew it, Apple Jack was going on in a long tale of how she and the others had met and defeated Nightmare Moon, then Discord, Chrysalis, Tirek, the Shadow Pony, the Storm King, Cozy Glow, and then the later and Tirek and Chrysalis. Sugar Belle had not been exaggerating when she had said that AJ had saved the world a dozen times. Apple Bloom would sometimes add some little tidbits in, while Mac and Sugar Belle silently listened, the mare leaning on her husband’s shoulder. Ray let a peaceful smile spread across his face as he listened, although his brow dipped at the mentions of the three villains who had formed a coalition that had nearly taken the land. He would have to ask Twilight for a better history of Equestria’s enemies.  
“... And that’s basically it,” AJ concluded, looking up. “Whooee. Look at the time. We all better get back to work.”  
The others nodded in agreement, and Ray turned to follow the two larger ponies as they went back into the orchard. He picked up his axe where he’d left it, resuming his steady working rhythm as the sun made its way across the sky. Before he knew it, he was back to quietly singing as he chopped down tree after tree. After what seemed like only minutes, he turned to find Apple Bloom smiling up at him from one of the trees.  
“Apple Jack says ya can leave whenever ya want,” she said sweetly. He nodded, wiping the sweat off of his forehead as he sat down wearily. He had been working himself harder than he’d known, and now he was feeling it. His shoulders were sagging and his legs were feeling so light he worried that they might float away completely. Looking up at the sky, he saw that the sun was beginning its descent, although it had yet to touch the ground.  
“How old’re ya?” A voice entered his head, and he turned in surprise to the inquiring pony. He had thought that the pony had left him once she’d delivered her message, but apparently he was wrong. She gave him another adorable little smile, and continued. “I didn’t mean ta impose, I was just wonderin’ ‘cuz ya seem so much older, but still look so young.”  
“This may come as a surprise, but I’m fourteen.” The gasp that came from the filly was so large that Ray could’ve built a house on it. He chuckled at the thunderstruck look on the little pony’s face. He stood and began walking away to where the homestead lay, calling back,“Try not to leave your jaw on the ground.”  
Apple Bloom galloped to catch up with him as he continued walking. After a brief second of stopping, he redirected his path to where he knew AJ was working. He figured it would probably be best to tell the pony himself he was leaving so there wouldn’t be any confusion. Apple Bloom had caught up to him surprisingly quick, and was now breathlessly looking up at him.  
“Ya know what this means,” she asked excitedly. “It means we could be like siblings! I’m only eleven, and yer fourteen, so it’s only a three year diff’rence.” She gasped again, this time in revelation. “I should introduce ya to th’ others!”  
“I’m sure I’d love to meet them,” he said kindly as AJ came into view. “But I already agreed with Rarity to go to her boutique to get new clothes, and by then, I don’t think I’ll have time. Maybe tomorrow?”  
The filly deflated slightly, but still nodded her head eagerly. However, no sooner had she finished nodding her head then another gasp came from her, startling Ray.  
“You said you were goin’ ta Rarity’s,” she asked. By now Apple Jack had noticed the two of them and had set her own axe down, trotting over. Ray decided that the quickest way to end the conversation was to go along with it, so he nodded. “Well that’s just swell! One of my friends lives there, so I can go meet with th’ other one, bring ‘em there, and we could all say hi and then have our sleep over. It’s perfect.”  
“Sure does sound like it, sugarcube,” Apple Jack said, before tapping her chin in mock consideration. “Although, ya can’t do that if Ray’s still here.” Turning to him, she continued. “That is why y’all’re here, right. Leavin’.” Ray nodded. “Then why don’t’cha follow me.”  
He did as Apple Bloom ran off to do some other task. After a couple of minutes of walking, they were back at the homestead. Apple Jack excused herself for a moment as she went inside to grab something. After only a few seconds, she was back out, a piece of paper in hoof. She rolled it out on one of the nearby barrels, displaying it. It looked pretty official, and even had a stamp on it from the town hall.  
“What’s that,” he inquired nonchalantly.  
“Contract of employment,” she answered factually. “It’s required fer all employment outside of institutions that aren’t family run. Some big scandal a few years back made it necessary. Just sign this and drop it off at town hall and ya’ll be all set ta go.”  
He skimmed over the document, just so he was familiar with the work he was putting himself into. It was a six month contract, which was fairly good since that would put him into February of next year. There was one fact that slightly concerned him.  
“Your name is spelt Applejack,” he asked.  
“Yeah,” Applejack confirmed. “Why?”  
“Well, it's just that I’ve been spelling it as Apple space Jack, not Applejack,” he explained.  
Applejack simply shrugged. “It’s no big deal,” she reassured. Then, after a moment of looking around, she smacked herself on the forehead with a hoof. “Darn it, I forgot to grab a pen ‘r quill.”  
“That’s fine,” he said. “I’ll just grab one at the town hall. By the way, what does the town hall look like?”  
“Big circle building in th’ center of town,” she replied. “I need to get back to work. Lots to do before harvest.”  
She turned and began trotting away, and Ray took his own leave, grabbing the paper before ducking under the arching gateway out. His weak legs made him decide that running was not an option, so he began to walk steadily through the trees. The return to the town was at least three times slower than his exit of it, but that was fine by him. Instead, he was able to watch the setting sun over the distant mountains as he walked down the soft dirt road. Overall, he felt that his first day on the job had been a success.  
He hadn’t counted exactly how many trees he’d felled, but he was estimating around a hundred. They were just so easy to cut down that he had actually found the work easy. Tiring, sure, but not so much that he was mind-numbed. After what only seemed like a couple seconds, he found himself leaving the orchard and entering the rolling, grassy hills. He took a deep breath, enjoying the fresh air. By now, the sun had touched down on the mountains, which meant nightfall was soon to come.  
He picked up his pace as he entered the town, receiving strange glances from ponies. He returned them with warm smiles to confirm that, no, he wasn’t here to ransack their town. As he reached the center of the town, he looked around and found the hall near instantly. The building was two circular stories tall, with balconies wrapping all around it. There were pink windows on fifty percent of the building's cream exterior walls, with even the double doors being pink. The spired top was velvet colored and had a small view point at the very top.  
As he began to ascend the birch steps to the hall, the double doors opened inward, revealing two ponies. One of them was the familiar sea green figure of Emerald Joy, who was excitedly speaking to her partner, a beige, spectacle wearing mare with a white and gray mane and tail. The senior’s- he was guessing that age was the reason for the color of her hair- cutie mark was a scroll wrapped in a blue ribbon.  
“Speak of the devil and he shall appear,” Emerald suddenly said ecstatically. Her face fell and she looked hesitant for a moment. “Not that I think you’re evil or anything, it’s just…”  
“Expression. I get it.” Ray gave his acquaintance a smile, then looked over to the side where her companion was gaping up at him. “How do you, ma’am?”  
“Fine, thank you,” she said. Her voice sounded a little like when country and class meshed. Turning to Emerald, she asked, “Is this the human you were talking about.”  
“Yes, he is,” she confirmed with a warm smile in Ray’s direction. “What’cha doin’ here, Ray?”  
Holding up the document, he said, “I need to get this accounted for, since I’m workin’ for the Apple family.”  
“The Apple family, eh,” the other mare said. “Good family. I can get that documented for you right here. My name is Mayor Mare, mayor of Ponyville. I hope I speak for the entire town when I say that you’re welcome here. You’ll just need to sign that for me.”  
“Right,” Ray said in realization. “I need a pen or something.”  
“Come inside,” Mayor Mare insisted, gesturing to him to follow her inside. He followed, noticing that EJ- short for Emerald Joy in his head- had stayed behind. She quickly told him that she had to go, and turned and dashed away. As he entered, he suddenly found a pen being held out to him from a beige hoof. Smiling at the speed of the pony, he took the black and gold embroidered pen. Finding a desk, he did a quick readthrough of the document. Not that he didn’t trust AJ, she was the fricken Element of Honesty, after all, he just wanted to make sure she wasn’t unfair to herself.  
Finding the document agreeable for both sides, he clicked the pen open and went in to sign it. However, he paused as he read something over it.  
Full name please.  
He stared down at it for several seconds, unsure of what to do. Did his last name even matter in this world? How would it hold any meaning amongst these ponies? Even if it did, what did it matter? His family was now non-existent. Or was he?  
After almost a minute, he signed it. Raymond S. Deang.  
He stood up and handed the paper to the mayor, before silently walking out of the room. What was his name here? Walking silently through the town, he found himself watching two foals running through the street. The sun glistened off the cobbles of the street, giving the impression that they were galloping on tiny stars. They laughed joyously as they continued their game, youthful innocence radiating from their grinning faces. Ray stopped walking as he watched them clatter down the street.  
For a moment though, he didn’t see two foals running through the street like any other day. Instead, he saw two pieces of bloody fur splattered on the ground.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it's been so long since I posted. I meant to last Friday but forgot, and by the time I finally noticed, I was basically done with chapter 8. So now you get a double chapter! See you next Friday!


	9. Measuring Up

Ray cried out in horror as he stumbled back. Shaking his head quickly, he shot his gaze back to where the two foals had been. They were gone now, but he swore he could have recognized one of them. That's right, Apple Bloom. Cute little Apple Bloom. Not a piece of her lying on the ground in a bloody mess.He let out a deep breath.   
What the hell was that, he thought, gazing in the direction the filly and her friend had been running. The image wouldn’t leave him. Everywhere he looked, he saw bloody pieces of pony lying on the ground. He tried to look at one of the ponies at the market, but only saw a walking piece of the dead. He shuddered, turning to follow where the fillies had gone. He had to make sure they were safe.  
He stumbled after the fillies’ trail, trying to keep them in sight. He had to make sure it wasn’t really happening. His brain told him that it wasn’t, but his heart was telling him it was. His stumbling progressed into running, and soon, he was sprinting down the street as fast as he could. He passed house after house as the dead watched on curiously. No, they weren’t dead yet. He could stop this.  
Soon enough, however, he had run out of the very edges of the town. Looking around the outskirts of the town, he couldn’t see either of the fillies on the grassy hills, reddened by the setting sun. He tried to remember what they were supposed to look like, instead of the bloodstained images stuck in his head. He continued looking around desperately, hoping he could see the young ones anyways. He was panting from the short, speedy run he’d taken. Collapsing to the ground, he sighed in defeat. They weren’t out there, on those bloody plains.   
“Hey, Mister Ray,” a voice came from behind. He turned quickly to find three fillies running towards him. Fillies. One of them was the recognizable figure of Apple Bloom, and the other was the dirty orange pegasus with a purple mane and tail from before. The third one was unknown to him, but she had the face of a familiar white unicorn. She too was pristine white, although her hair was pink with lavender highlights, which seemed to come naturally with some ponies. The voice had come from the pegasus filly, who was noticeably faster than her friends as she arrived next to his crouched form.   
“My name’s Scootaloo,” she said jestily, holding out a hoof. Ray smiled, hoping to hide the immense relief as he felt at the fact that they were safe. A small part of him was calling out his foolish reason to worry, reminding him that the invasion wasn’t supposed to happen any time soon. He ignored it as he took the filly’s hoof and shook it, standing up.   
“My name is Sweetie Belle,” the white unicorn introduced, turning to her fellow fillies. Then, in unison, they yelled out, “And we’re the Cutie Mark Crusaders.”  
They stuck their butts out at his as they finished, making Ray turn his head to keep their decency. Besides, if his guess about Sweetie Belle was correct, how would Rarity react if she knew he’d looked at her sister’s behind? Not very well, if he had any guess. After a moment, though, he realized why they might be making the gesture. There was something on their rumps that they might have reason to be proud of, other than the rumps themselves.   
Slowly, deliberately, he looked over at their flanks, where their cutie marks were positioned. There, three near identical marks were proudly displayed for him. They were shaped like shields, with three different colored stripes in the same order on all marks: red, pink, and purple. However, the marks varied per filly. Sweetie Belle’s had a deep purple star in the center, with a pink music note concealed in it. Apple Bloom’s, which he had yet to actually see, had an apple shape with a heart in it in the center of her mark. Scootaloo’s had a wing in the center, with a lightning bolt stored inside of it.   
“They’re awesome, aren’t they,” Scootaloo asked excitedly.  
Ray smiled, deciding to have some fun with them. “Yeah, nice booty marks,” he responded.  
“Hey,” Sweetie snorted indignantly. “They aren't booty marks! They’re our cutie marks!”  
The other two sounded their own agreement with their friend as Ray retorted, “Well, they’re marks on your butts. So, yeah, booty marks.” The three fillies scowled at him, making him drop the act. “I’m just teasing, you guys. Nice cutie marks.”  
“We know,” the three ponies said, once again in unison. They giggled as they raced off, and Ray took the cue to follow them. The setting sun had now reached the halfway point in its descent, the dying rays of gold glistening on the cobbles. He was quickly catching up with them, when they suddenly turned to a round building at the outskirts of the town.   
It was bell-shaped, with the bottom part decorated with an intricate baby blue and white pattern. A single blueberry door split in the middle to allow people- or ponies- to speak to the owner of the house or enter. The roof bore a checkered pattern of pink and light lavender, and gently sloped into a smaller second story. The windows had their tan curtains drawn back to allow passersby to see the delicate dresses and suits displayed in the window. The sign above the entrance to the shop was decorated with a model pony wearing a pony version of a pink corset. The text under the image read Carousel Boutique, which meant-  
“This is where Rarityworks,” Ray muttered out loud. It was actually exactly what he’d expected, with the building's fancy aesthetic and clean demeanor. The three fillies rushed indoors, and Ray after them. As he entered, he had one thought: If the outside was fancy, then this is a royal level of fancy.  
The interior was decorated with several different booths sectioned off by raspberry curtains. He assumed it was so that customers could try on the various dresses and suits that were displayed on the model ponies that lined the room. Gold lined mirrors peeked out of one of the open booths, allowing him to see himself on their reflective surface. One wall to his left was completely hidden from view behind the rows of dresses, corsets, gowns, suits, hats, headpieces, and accessories strung up on hangers in rows. There were benches here and there, presumably to allow seating while waiting for one's turn. In the back of the room was a staircase that led up to the second story, where he figured most of the accounting and designing was done. Currently, a familiar plum maned unicorn was trotting down the steps, looking furious.   
“Girls,” she yelled. “How many times do I have to tell you to not race through the door like a bugbear’s chasing you! If I have to replace the door again because of your bumbling about, I swear, I’ll make you three do it!” Then, noticing Ray hiding a smirk behind his hand, she changed her attitude from flustered older sibling to charismatic businesswoman. “Ray, darling! How have you been?”  
“Fine,” he lied. “I just was chasing after the girls, and it led me straight to where I needed to go. I need something that’s not Discord for working.”  
“Working? Already,” she asked as she trotted up to him, using her magic to pick up a measuring roll. “I would figure, just from your circumstance, that you would take a break to get accustomed to your new home. Arms out please.”  
“Yeah, well, I usually work up to eighteen hours a week day, so it felt wrong to not,” he replied as he raised his arms. “Hey, what were you thinking of making for me? I’m not that picky, but if it’s something like a fancy suit of giraffe neck thingy, I’m tellin’ you, I won’t wear it.”  
“While there are several ideas I would like to try out with your physique,” she admitted, wrapping the measuring tool around his arm, “I will restrain myself from any ideas you do not agree with. However,” she paused hesitantly, biting her lip, “how does a suit sound. Nothing fancy, just something nice to wear on special occasions. Or for a special somepony?”  
“Sure,” he agreed absentmindedly, before realizing he might need to clarify on what he was agreeing to. “Sure on the suit. Not for the special… somepony. I’ve only been here for two days, and Rainbow is already pairing up Fluttershy and me. It’s very disturbing how quickly some ponies are trying to get me laid.”  
“Laid,” Rarity gasped, looking around for the younger ponies in the shop. Finding none, she slapped him with a hoof, although slapped was a strong word for it. More like tapped harshly. “There are younger ponies in this house,” she hissed. “I would mind your language.”  
“Sorry,” he muttered as Rarity moved to measure the length of his leg. “Speaking of younger ponies, is Sweetie Belle your sister?”  
“Why yes she is,” she exclaimed, examining the tape measure. “How did you know?”  
“Family resemblance,” he answered. A new thought occurred. “You’ve never met a human before, so how do you plan on making clothes for me?”  
She bit her lip again as she responded, “Well, I think I’ll just take your general body shape, width, and height, and use proportions to measure it up. I need to make sure that the clothes fit, but aren’t too tight, lest they cut off circulation. They also need to be presentable to the public, but not uncomfortable for the wearer, or vice versa. It would be a shame to discredit both you and myself with an unfashionable piece. However, I also need to consider growing space, so the clothes will last longer. It would be a shame to have something you wear only once or twice that took such effort to make. That is, if you are still growing?”  
“Oh, yes, I am,” Ray responded, consumed in thought. Rarity continued to talk, but Ray didn’t listen to anything she said. All of what Rarity had just talked about applied to his current situation.   
He needed to make himself comfortable with this world in order to properly protect it, like a shirt protected the wearer. He needed to keep the public comfortable, which meant he needed to keep complete secrecy about their predicament. Even after only a day here, living life like them, he knew that if they knew of their fate without him, there would be mass panic. He also needed to keep Twilight’s image pristine, because, despite the immorality of what she’d done, she hadn’t done anything wrong to her own people. If they rebelled, however that might look, he couldn’t exactly trust them. In spite of all of her downfalls, she was still the best bet to saving her own kind, and most knowledgeable of their circumstances. Begrudgingly, he actually trusted her, because in all of the crap she’d put him through, thus far, she’d been honest about it. She’d even had the foresight to give him a home and some friends. Now, he would give them all life.  
“Ray,” Rarity asked, breaking his thoughts. “Are you even listening? I asked if you would like to have the same style of shirt as Discord gave you or another style completely. You seem to be completely somewhere else though.” Her face softened. “It’s about your current predicament, isn’t it?”  
“Yes,” he muttered softly, looking around for any of the fillies. “But it wouldn’t be appropriate to speak of such things around younger ponies.”  
“They’re already outside and heading off to the Apple’s family farm. They left while you were… previously occupied. Pray tell, what is your decision on the matter. I would very much like to know what is happening or going to happen to my family and friends.” Rarity used her magic to pull up a chair for both of them while simultaneously setting down the measuring tape in a nearby basket.  
Sighing, he took a seat, head in hands. “I’m not fighting for Twilight, or her ideologies. I’m doing it on my own accord. Fighting for my new home, my new friends. I realized something last night, when I was about to take my own life. It doesn’t matter how immoral the means by which I came here. It would be twice as immoral for me to stand by and watch a defenseless race be destroyed by sheer brutality. It would be like having a mother slap me, but then stand by and watch her children be slaughtered by someone else. In my world, there’s a saying. ‘Two wrongs don’t make a right’. I intend to follow through on my humanity, despite being in an equine world. I will fight and die for my world.”  
He took a deep breath and looked up to Rarity, who was smiling despite the severity of his pledge. The room seemed to echo with it as he slowly returned to normal breathing. He slumped back in his chair, feeling genuine pride in himself for the pledge he’d been waddling his way to. He’d have to tell Twilight about it, on Thursday when he would meet her again. He felt she would understand, though. She was a smart pony.  
“You're a very noble stallion,” Rarity said with a soft smile. “Anypony would and should be proud to call themselves your friend.”  
“Thank you,” he responded, blushing. He didn’t know when the last time he’d been praised like that had been. Before he knew it, he felt Rarity wrap him in a warm hug. Slowly, he returned the gesture, enjoying the warmth of her fur against him.   
“No, thank you,” she thanked. He felt her sob into his shoulder. “I-I have a family in Canterlot. M-my parents. And Sweetie Belle, of course. I know what Twilight said about those… monsters is the truth, and I can’t bear the thought of losing them. I have personal experience with violence that nopony should ever endure. In the battle for Canterlot, I couldn’t bring myself to… ki-kill those changelings. Despite the danger they posed, a piece of myself made every attempt to fatally wound my enemies a knockout hit instead of a life taking one. Rainbow Dash is a more violent variant of pony, but even she says she never wanted to kill anypony, just, and I quote, ‘Kick their tail’. Without you, I don’t know what Equestria would do without you.”  
Ray smiled softly as he gave the unicorn a small squeeze and gently began scratching the top of her head, behind her ears. In return, she gave a small, cat-like pur that made Ray chuckle. Rarity snorted indignantly at that and pulled away, though she couldn’t hide that smile on her face.   
“I’ve never been comforted like that,” she said defensively, “so I didn’t know that would happen.”  
“It’s amazing what you can do with fingers,” he responded. Suddenly, a thought crossed his mind. “Don’t mean to be rude or anything, but you weren’t just flirting with me, were you?”  
“No, of course not,” she denied, sounding appalled. She suddenly blushed and ducked her head, muttering, “Besides, I’m already with somepony else.”  
As if on cue, a bell rang as the door opened. Both pony and human turned to find a familiar purple and tan scaled dragon stepping through the doorway. His eyes were shining as he closed the door behind him, but instantly narrowed as he saw Ray. Oh crap, he thought as the dragon glared at him, this guy again. This oughta be fun.  
“Rarity, what is this guy doing here,” he asked in his squeaky voice.  
“Well he’s one of my friends, and he needed clothes, so I offered last night,” Rarity explained.   
“Last night,” he questioned suspiciously. “What happened last night?”  
“Well, Pinkie Pie organized a party at his new home here in Ponyville, so the girls and I went. He mentioned that he needed new clothes since the clothing Discord gave him wasn't particularly tasteful.”  
“Wait,” the drake interjected. “Discord trusts you?”  
“Um, you know, it's kinda hard to tell with him,” Ray responded hesitantly. He hadn’t seen the dragon breath fire yet, but if he didn’t answer carefully, he’d be getting more than the smoke signals he was currently giving off. “But he did call me his friend, so I think that counts as something.”  
“Okay,” he said, eyeing the human. “If Discord trusts you, then I do. Just keep your hooves off my marefriend.”   
Rarity rolled her eyes as she got up and crossed the room, giving him a peck on his cheek. All of his tension melted away into a goofy grin as Rarity began speaking. “Spike, darling, we’re just friends, and while I do agree with Discord in this case, is he really where you should put your highest trust?”  
“Well, he is my best guy friend,” Spike responded defensively. “And he has been reformed twice.”  
“Yes, but he’s also invaded Equestria thrice,” Rarity softly retorted. “I’m just warning you to make sure to have your own standards, and not just your friends.”  
“Okay, okay,” he said, giving her a hug. “I will do, my sweet.”  
Meanwhile, Ray was looking anywhere but the pair, silently wishing they weren’t in front of the door so he could escape. While love and that kind of crap was fine with him, it was incredibly uncomfortable to watch a toddler size creature and a mare that he aged in the mid-twenties making lovey eyes with each other. Luckily, the two noticed him trying to stay still and silent through their little debacle.   
“Don’t worry,” Spike muttered, “I’m sixteen.”  
Both Ray and Rarity turned to him in surprise as he had guessed Ray’s exact thoughts. “How did know-” Ray began, before Spike cut in.  
“We’re both guys, you have seven siblings, and you seem to usually be the respectable kind, so you would be concerned about perversion,” he answered. “Besides it’s usually what most ponies think when they see us, because I look like a baby. I actually turn seventeen next month. Because I’m a dragon, I mature differently. The greedier I am, the bigger I grow, and since I was raised by ponies, my greed was generally controlled.”  
“Raised by ponies? How does that work,” Ray asked.  
“When Twilight was six, she was given a test to see how she would handle failure. Since nopony had hatched a dragon egg before, they figured there was no danger in it. And then Twilight hatched me, technically making her my mother.” Spike paused, looking disturbed at the thought. “Instead, Twilight’s parents did most of the raising. Twilight’s more like a big sister to me, which is why…”  
“Which is why you got so offended by me calling her what I did,” Ray finished. “I’m not going to say sorry for that, but I do apologize for offending you.”  
A small grin spread across Spike’s face at Ray’s weak attempt at a joke, easing the tension that had been building in the boutique. Seeing that everything was settling, Rarity stepped back and asked, “Well Spike, I must ask, why are you in Ponyville?”  
“Twilight said I could have tonight off, seeing how I’ve been working two months straight without a break,” he answered casually. “I was thinking we could go out to dinner. Whatdya feel like?”  
“Well, I heard that the Cakes have a new menu at Sugarcube Corner,” she replied, walking over to one of the nearby drawers. She opened it and pulled out a light blue scarf, and with Spike’s help, wrapped it around her neck. “Thank you, dear. Anyways, I was hoping that they finally applied the marshmallow cinnabon to their desserts. Ever since Pinkie made it, I’ve been craving it.”   
“Breaking that diet, are we,” Spike asked teasingly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and leaning in.   
“Well, I feel like whenever I look in the mirror, my body screams skin and bones,” she said, leaning in slyly. “I don’t think you will mind that, my little Spikey-wikey.  
Now that they had moved away from the front door, Ray slowly shifted to be in front of it. Carefully opening the doors, he began walking out, when Rarity suddenly called out, “Why Ray, darling, why don’t you join us?”  
Turning, he gave them a friendly, but apologetic smile. “Sounds like it would be lovely, but I don’t have the money”  
“Oh that’s fine,” Spike insisted. “I have plenty of bits for the three of us.”  
“No, really,” he responded, his smile growing sad. “You don’t need to. Enjoy yourselves. I have a date with my kitchen.”  
The other two seemed to get the message, nodding near simultaneously. Ray took his leave, walking out of the doors, making sure to duck his head as he left the shop. By now, night had fallen, the million-eyed sky staring down at Ray as he began walking down the empty lane. He stared back up at the night sky, his smile dying as he found those familiar constellations. Why were they here, in this world, and not back at home? Had they, too, been pulled into this dimension, to witness the eradication of a species? No, not yet. Not as long as Ray was alive.  
He began to stroll down the hill, pondering what he had to do to properly protect the ponies that he now called his friends. Darnit, but that was the problem. He couldn’t, at least until he talked with Twilight about it. The most he could do right now was create scenarios and react to them. It would never be enough in an actual fight, but it was the best he could do.   
As he ascended the hill, he began running. Another thing he could do right now is prepare physically. His previous life and work had built up a basic construct for his muscles, but he needed to continue working them to fine tune them. If he was to be facing what he thought he was facing, then he would have to build his body's durability, agility, and stamina. Currently, his job at Sweet Apple Acres was doing as much. Hopefully the training that Twilight was providing was actually adequate for a human. He didn’t really have much doubt, though. Twilight didn’t seem like a pony to ever half-ass something, especially when it concerned the fate of her kind.  
As he continued running, he saw that his house was actually quite far from the town. It would be fairly easy for anypony to find my house, he thought. I’d just have to tell them, “Hey, you know that house outside the town? Yeah, that’s mine. He chuckled at the ridiculous thought as his house neared. However, on approach, he noticed a large difference in the appearance of his front door.   
Instead of green grass, freshly turned dirt and flower bushes lined the path to his front door. Buttercream yellow daisies lined either side of the door. From there, dark blue cornflowers and pink lilies spread out across his lawn in a skilled placement to allow the colors to compliment each other. A note was taped to his door at his eye level, which would only be possible with a certain pony variant. Walking up to it, he read it.

Hello Ray,  
I hope you had a good time at work. Angel Bunny and I decided to plant some flowers in your front yard. They always help me feel better when I'm down, so I hope they do the same for you. I’m sorry if you don’t like them. I tried to guess which flowers would best fit you. Just remember, anytime you need to talk, I’m here for you.   
Fluttershy

A slow smile spread across his face as he finished the note. Looking back at the flowers, he realized that she had guessed perfectly what he would like. There were more cornflowers than lilies, which seemed fitting to Ray. With a last sweeping gaze, he entered his house.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this took so long to get out. I accidentally closed the page, and when I got back on, I couldn't remember my password, so I had to wait for an email to come back from Archive in order to reset my password. Anyways, new chapter tomorrow.


	10. Normality

That night, after a warm shower and a sandwich, he stood by his window once again, restless. He was unsure as to why he was so eager to get things going, but the thought of waiting two more days was making him anxious. He sighed as jumbled thoughts continued to rattle around his head, giving him a headache. The night sky didn’t give him any answers, simply watching his plight with blind eyes. He sighed. Why did it have to look so much like the one back on Earth? This only muddled his brain further.  
With another sigh, this one of resignation, he turned away from the window and the blasted night sky. Flopping face first onto his bed, he moaned. There was really nothing he could do at this point but wait, and that didn’t seem to settle his mind any further than the secretive night sky. He tried to reason with himself, that it didn’t matter until Thursday, but then his brain would make another silly prediction, and it was back to square one.   
He flipped over in his bed, still fully dressed, and began to pull his blankets around him. He knew he probably wouldn’t get a wink of sleep with his mind where it was, so he changed his thoughts to something more trivial to distract them from the more pressing matters. He began wondering how he would ever get meat, but then almost smacked himself. There were fish; he’d seen those in the river as he crossed over the bridge. There was also a large, untamed forest right outside of the town’s limits. There had to be deer or rabbits or something in there.  
Plans began to formulate in his head at how to get them. He could try to make a snare or something, though he wasn’t sure how successful that would be, seeing how he’d never done such a thing. He could also try to make his own weapons, but their usefulness was at least as questionable. All of this would be excellent to know come wartime. He would have to ask Twilight if she knew anything about weapon making.   
Another thing he’d have to wait for. He took a deep breath as his thoughts raced back to the restless subject of waiting. Cursing to himself, rolling to his other side, trying to figure out the best way to put his mind at ease. The answer was almost immediate, and almost so simple that he smacked himself. He couldn’t do anything until Thursday anyways, why should he worry until Thursday. Near instantly, his mind shut its rollercoaster of questions and doubts shut off. He sighed in peace, staring out into the night sky from under his covers. He was still bothered by the fact that it looked so much like Earth’s sky, but he laid that off too.  
Before he knew it, he was dozing off once again. Sighing in content, he shifted into sleep, the warm darkness overtaking him. The night sung to him as he slept, crickets now residing in the flower beds planted in his front yard chirping softly in the language of the night. Fireflies, unseen by his sleeping figure, flew in a softly glowing cloud across the hills to a certain hut on the edge of town.   
It was shaped like a tree, as indeed it was, hollowed out but still alive with browning leaves. Its branches were lined with bird boxes, feeders, nests, holes, and perches, all taken by sleeping fowl and mammal residents. In the window on the upper story, a buttercream pegasus was nervously pacing across the floor, mumbling to herself. A small white bunny watched the spectacle anxiously, eyes trained on his caretaker and friend. She continued pacing before abruptly turning to her companion.  
“Why would anypony feel like they’re useless,” she asked, concerned. “It’s not like he doesn’t have a cutie mark to show him his true purpose, so why would he… feel so useless? He has friends here, and we all want him here, so why would he”- she shuddered- “want to die. And it’s not like I’m a therapist! I just listen and try to help where I can. I can’t actually do this! Oh sweet Celestia, why did I put myself up to this?”  
The white hare smacked a paw over his face, trying to act as casual as he could without being rude. As much as he loved and respected Fluttershy, she really had a bad habit of over-worrying about things if she thought too much about it. She was like this at first with Discord, before she and he became more… comfortable. Yes, only comfortable, nothing more. Half the time, the little bunny didn't even know what she was talking about, with all her stammerings and trailing off, but he still tried to give advice. Now was not one of those times.  
He squeaked at her in annoyance, telling her to slow down and actually tell him what was wrong so he could actually help. Something had happened at that party the other night, something he needed to know. Fluttershy had come home flustered and completely worn, barely giving him a greeting before falling asleep on the sofa. Whatever it was, it was affecting her now, and it was somehow tied to the elusive stallion she was mumbling about.   
Slowly, she took a deep breath, looking out the window expectantly, like she was waiting for somepony. “There’s a new creature in Equestria, Angel,” she muttered. “He’s like nothing I’ve ever seen before. He’s hairless save for his mane, bigger than Harry, and so confusing, I just can’t understand him. Something really bad happened to him in his old life, I know that, but he refuses to tell me what. I think I understand, since we only met yesterday and he might have trouble trusting anypony, especially after the terrible way Twilight brought him here. He has a large scar on his stomach, but he seems to pay it no mind.”  
Angel immediately began screeching in condemnation, asking how she would be close enough to him to see his stomach. Fluttershy flushed, looking down.  
“It's not like that, Angel! He arrived without any clothes save for the bit around his lower middle. That’s another thing, he wears clothes all the time. He’s very insistent on it, and seems to take pride in his own decency. Anyways, he seems to be fairly happy on his exterior, considering his circumstances, but I’ve seen through that shell. He’s quite frankly a mess, with things that have happened in his life that I can’t even begin to understand.  
“Last night, during the party, I saw his fake exterior, and saw… something else. He- he wanted to k-kill himself yesterday, just hours into his arrival here.”  
Angel Bunny let out a small gasp, his tiny jaw dropping in surprise. He had heard and seen plenty of terrible things in his life, it was a byproduct of living in the wild. But this, this was something he had never heard of before, was unprepared for. He couldn’t even begin to comprehend why such a notion would, could, exist in such a peaceful place.   
That was it, the problem. The creature, whatever it was, was another evil being here to conquer Equestria and take Fluttershy from him. Angel told Fluttershy so, making her head shake sadly.   
“Oh, I know this is terrible to say, but I wish that were the case, I really do. Then, in the end, he would understand the Magic of Friendship and all would be okay. But this is much worse Angel. Poor Ray was brought here by Twilight to fight a war. And he will. Oh, this is all so terrible and confusing and scary, and I don’t know how I can ever help poor Ray with it all, when I can’t even deal with it myself.”  
Angel rushed over and took the watery-eyed mare’s hoof, leading her over to one of the sofas. He tittered to some of the squirrels that lived in the house, along with the family of mice, to go and get some tea for their caretaker. They rushed off to do so as Angel gently patted Fluttershy’s hoof, her silently staring out the window at a group of fireflies.  
The fireflies, continuing their journey, drafted off towards a controlled section of woodlands. The playfully flitted about nearripe apples as they moved along the grove, coming upon a small treehouse amidst the trees. Inside the simple wooden structure, a yellow light shone from a lantern in the center of the room, giving light to the three fillies within. They sat, whispering despite their privacy.  
“Whatdya think about Ray,” Apple Bloom asked, grinning broadly. “I think he’s a real charmin’ guy, in spite o’ th’ teasin’!”  
“Yeah,” Scootaloo agreed, giggling slightly. “Who would’ve thought of ‘booty mark’?”  
“I don’t know,” Sweetie Belle jutted in. “he seemed kinda strange. Didn’t you see his eyes. They looked haunted, like he had seen something really really bad. And what about his running, like he was searching for something and he was scared of losing it forever.”  
“That’s silly talk,” Apple Bloom said, lightly shoving Sweetie. “He’s perfectly normal! Just like us!”  
“I’d say we’re hardly normal,” Scootaloo said with a smile. “I mean, we go to the School of Friendship, are friends with the Princess, and have saved Equestria for Celestia’s sake!”   
“Good point,” Sweetie Belle responded. After a brief moment of silence, she smiled mischievously asked, “So who do think he’ll end up with?”  
“Ooh,” Scootaloo muttered thoughtfully, rubbing a hoof on her chin. “That’s a hard one.”  
“What if he ends up with onea our sisters,” Apple Bloom asked, quirking her eyebrow mischievously. All three fillies exchanged looks with smiles on their faces.  
“Rarity,” Apple Bloom shot.   
“Nah,” Sweetie Belle shot down. “She has Spike, and she isn’t gonna give him up. Rainbow Dash?”  
“Nope,” Scootaloo denied. “She’s still hung up about Soarin. AJ?”  
“Far as I know, th’ only apple of her eye’s th’ one that needs pickin’,” Apple Bloom said thoughtfully.  
“Wait a minute,” Sweetie suddenly cut in with a panicked tone. “Didn’t you say something about Ray telling you he was only fourteen?”  
“Um, yeah, why,” Scootaloo answered for her, staring in confusion at her fellow Crusader.  
Apple Bloom’s eyes widened as she caught the drift. “Ya don’t mean…”  
“Guys,” Scootaloo yelled in annoyance at the display. “I’m not as smart as you. What’re you gettin’’ on about?”  
Cautiously looking over at her friend, Apple Bloom whispered quietly, “Big Mac’s six years older than Sugar Belle.”  
Scootaloo’s eyes widened as she made an unspoken realization. All three exchanged glances once again, this time in horror rather than mischief.   
“That cannot happen,” Sweetie muttered, the other two nodding simultaneously in agreement.  
“But how do we prevent it,” Scootaloo asked out loud. “I mean, how do we stop love from actually happening?”  
“Cherilee, that’s how,” Apple Bloom reminded, grimacing at the memory.   
“Well, we’re practically sisters, right,” Sweetie asked, gaining nods of agreement. “Well, if we’re like sisters, then if he becomes part of one of our families, we won’t have to worry about that.”  
“Ya mean… adoptin’ him,” Apple Bloom asked. After a few moments of thoughtful thinking, she called out, “Dibs!”  
“Hey, we didn’t even agree to that,” Scootaloo yelled indignantly. “Besides, how would that work?”  
“Well, we could go to Mayor Mare and ask to get paperwork to legally allow him ta join th’ Apple family. Maybe as a sibling, since it would be kinda awkward if he became my nephew.”  
“We didn’t even consent to that plan though,” Sweetie objected. “Why should you get him and not either of us?”  
“‘Cuz I’m th’ one that introduced him ta y’all, was th’ first one ta meet him, and he also’ll be workin’ th’ farm for th’ next six months at least. Makes sense to me.”  
“She does have a fair point,” Scootaloo allowed, looking to Sweetie to gauge her reaction. She huffed in disappointment before nodding in agreement. It did make the most sense.  
“Hey y’all, look,” Apple Bloom suddenly yelled, rushing over to the window. She pointed out a cloud of tiny embers floating right outside the window. “Lightnin’ bugs!”  
As the other two fillies rushed to the window beside their friend, the mass began flying away. It floated up and over the trees, leaving the orchard as they migrated before a lightless, empty moon, where a certain princess stood. She watched her own domain thoughtfully, staring out over the land that was now blanketed in the calm of night. She closed her eyes, entering the Realm of Dreams.  
She gently drifted between the hundreds of windows, all glowing with visions of what her little ponies were dreaming of. She smiled at many of them, even chuckled at a few, as she continued her journey through the realm. She was on a mission to find a specific dreamer, one that her friend had brought to this world. She hadn’t entirely been sure if he would’ve slept at all yesternight, due to his new and drastic circumstances, so she was checking now. Sure enough, she came across a foreign window.  
She looked into it, wondering the things that humans might dream. She gasped in surprise, pulling herself out of the monstrous nightmare she had just viewed. Tentatively, she reentered, wincing at the violence of such a dream. She had seen her fair share of death and gore in her years as co-commander of all of Equestria’s armed forces, but nothing compared to this child’s mind.   
Blood was splattered on every surface of the dream, pained screams echoing throughout the realm. Dead mares and stallions, many of which she recognized, lay in bloody heaps. The little ones ran, screaming in terror as minotaurs chased after them with weapons and teeth bared. She recognized the Cutie Mark Crusaders as they ran from a trio of the monsters. In the distance, she could see the human screaming as he tried to tear through the hundreds of minotaurs that infested the dream. He swung his sword desperately, only to have it bounce off of the beast's thick hide. Before she could end this terrible nightmare, she saw him look in her direction, making a chill run through her.  
The entire nightmare faded into black around her leaving her quite literally in the dark. She shivered, keeping herself still as a voice asked, Who are you? Are you the instigator of all of this?  
No, she responded slowly, trying to understand the depth of which this human understood the Realm of Dreams. It was obviously well, as she could barely sense his consciousness here, but not as well as her. Obviously not. She had relinquished her knowledge of this realm to Twilight, not her power over it. She made herself into a larger version of herself to give her a more powerful appearance. We are not here to harm thee, human. We merely wished to see what thou dreamest of.  
Oh, the human responded, sounding dejected, knowing that she had caught his terrible nightmare. He seemed ashamed of it, like it was his fault that it had happened. He appeared, wearing a black tunic and cream shorts, looking down. Even in her enlarged state, he still towered over her. His eyes were sad, worn by something that Luna was very familiar with. Guilt.  
He was guilty for the fact that he was not impossibly strong, enough to save the ponies he had barely met. They were also laden with tiredness, something that was rarely seen in a realm such as this. His eyes spoke of much more, of tragedy, of self hatred, of death.  
Who are you, and how did you get into my… nightmares, the human asked. You seem to know much of this place, so I must guess that you are some form of sleep demon. I’m never visited with angels.  
Nay, human. We are no demon, or angel for that matter, she corrected. She searched his mentality, finding his name was Raymond, but seemed to prefer Ray. We are Princess Luna, Princess of the Night and all her holdings, ex co-ruler of Equestria. We know thine name as Ray, the human Twilight deemed the champion of Equestria.  
You know of this, Ray asked suspiciously. Yes, he would be a good champion. She could see now, even before she looked further past his defences. Of course you do. But you should know that I am not fighting under Twilight’s order or name. I fight under my own name, and under the banner of Equestria. For no one else but my land and myself.  
A very strange notion, but a noble one. We see thee as a noble being, pure in heart for the cause.  
A heart? Luna could hear the scoff in the human’s head. That’s a first, but I guess I need one in order for it to break.  
What do thou speakest of, Ray?  
There was panic in his mind as he asked, Wait, you heard that?  
Of course. I am in your head, so your thoughts are portrayed to me as if you were speaking to me.   
Near instantly, a panicked image appeared. Luna gasped at the sight. A bloody hand gripped a bloodstained knife. Blood covered his stomach, which was still freely flowing onto the stark white hospital sheets. A needle was being put into his arm as he hoarsely asked for water, vision fading to black. Several concerned looking doctors with masks and gloves were exchanging unheard remarks, applying pressure to his wounded stomach. A beeping monitor was showing his heartbeat, which was dangerously low. Immediately, Luna knew this image was no nightmare, but a memory.  
What was that, Luna asked trying, to focus past the bloody image. All she found however, was darkness. No human, no images, not even the little bit of light she never dared go towards in every consciousness. She had been kicked out of the humans head. She knew in that moment that she had seen something that the poor child had not intended for her to see. Private or not, it was a concerning image, that she would have to talk to Tia about. If anypony knew what to do about such a thing, it would be the one with the most experience with heartbreak.  
She teleported away as the cloud of lightning bugs settled amongst the apple trees. They covered the branches in tiny, glowing veins, blinking to each other throughout the night. Suddenly, a bat swooped down, scooping up two in its hungry jaws in its hit and run. The swarm didn’t seem to notice, continuing to cover the branch as if two of their own hadn’t been slaughtered amongst their brothers and sisters. The bat, finding the lightning bugs’ taste to be rather chemical, flew away in search of a different group of bugs to consume. Its journey led over an outcropping of buildings at the edge of town, where it found a tasty group of moths. As night wore on, it traversed its way to a singular building amongst the hills, where swarms of insects were, attracted to the fresh flower beds. As the sun began to rise, it tucked under a ledge under the window, set to sleep for the day. A sudden blaring beep came from inside the room, followed by an unholy word, as the occupant of the room, having already been awake, was surprised by the loud alarm.  
Ray whacked the sleep button on the alarm clock, rubbing his dry eyes as morning sunlight streamed through. He shook his head, standing up and rushing over to the bathroom to take care of business. He couldn’t keep his mind off of the strange pony that had entered his mind. How much had she seen? How much did she know? Those questions had kept him awake ever since he had forced the alicorn from his head and awoken.   
He pondered over those questions more as he ate through two bowls of cereal. Mulling over the possibility that she hadn’t actually seen, that he had only panicked at the thought of what she might’ve seen, gave him some peace. That didn’t mean that he still wasn’t worried that he had actually booted the Princess of the Night out of his own head. Well, he figured, it wasn’t his fault she invaded his mind and thoughts. She should’ve known what his reaction would’ve been with such a revelation. So far, it seemed that every Princess he had met would wrong him in some way or another. It was a trend he didn’t want to continue,for he was pretty sure that if there was a Princess of the Night, then there was a Princess of the Day.  
He began searching through the book shelves for a copy of a history of the land he was now in. He found one that was approximately two thousand, three hundred, and fourteen pages. He also found a twenty page children's book labeled The Tale of Two Princesses that he decided was easier to read in the five minutes he had before he needed to leave. On the front page, there was a scribbled note.

Dear Raymond,  
This is a legend that accurately depicts what happened between the two former rulers of Equestria. If you have any questions otherwise, ask any of the girls or myself. If I forgot to tell you when I brought you here, there are thirty five bits in the economics book. I’m sorry that you have to be here, but please-

Ray stopped reading the note as it turned to an apology, setting the book on the shelf as he huffed in annoyance. If he was going to receive an apology, he was going to receive it directly. He quickly found the economics book, fittingly sorted into the E section, and pulled it out. Opening it up to a spot where the pages bulged, dozens of coins fell out and thunked on the soft carpeting. Flipping to the first page, he set the book down and began reading the note left there as he picked up the spilled coins.

Dear Raymond,  
This is a guide to the basic economic structure of equestria and the surrounding kingdoms. If you were wondering, yes, bits are made of actual gold, and after some math, one bit equates to thirteen thousand, two hundred dollars. They also use gems as a form of trade, and the one I used to sample (a four carat) was worth roughly thirty thousand dollars. Anyways, I really am sorry-

Ray slowly looked down at the coins he was holding in his hand. He currently held twenty in his palms. Enough to buy a house at home. Slowly, he began laughing, shaking his head slightly as he did so. How quickly the table of life had changed. Just three days ago, he was a worked kid on the streets of Pittsburg without a purpose but with a life. Now, he was rich, with enough to completely remake his family’s situation, but no family to do so. He shoved the coin in his pocket, leaving the rest on the table as he made his way out the door.   
He didn’t have to run this time, but he did anyway. It was relaxing to just watch the scenery pass as he made his way across the hills in the cool morning air. A light breeze rustled his messy hair as he made his way to the town. It passed by in a moment, and he suddenly found himself jogging through the apple trees of Apple Acres. With a smile, he came across two sleepy looking fillies as they trudged down the path his way.   
“Hey,” he yelled, gaining their attention. They looked up from the path and searched for him briefly, before finally making eye contact with him. He stopped in front of them as he asked, “How was your sleepover?”   
“Oh, it was real fun,” Scootaloo answered before yawning. Looking a little bleary-eyed as she continued, she said, “Yeah, we stayed up real late, talking and stuff…”  
“Yeah,” Sweetie Belle added with her own yawn. “Although we mostly forgot the sleep part of a sleepover.”  
“We gotta go, though,” Scootaloo said, staring back at the sun. “I’m supposed to check in with my aunts soon.”  
“Same with Rarity,” Sweetie agreed. “Bye.”  
Ray smiled as the two began trodding on. He once again began jogging through the trees before coming across Applejack on the trail. She was speaking to Big Mac and Sugar Belle in a hushed tone. Upon noticing him, she let a large grin spread across her face.  
“Well-a howdy there, Ray,” she called, waving a hoof in greeting. “We were just talkin’ aboucha . Today’s work’s gonna be diff’rent from yesterday’s. Since we were able to take down most’ve th’ trees, we need ta stump ‘em. Unfortunately, the stumpin’ tools’re built for ponies, and seein’ as how ye’re a human, ya can’t help us with that business. Instead, we’re gonna have ya workin’ on splittin’ the trees. Axes’re on the other side o’ the house, along with the pile.”  
Ray nodded in understanding, turning and walking away as he did so. The three ponies behind him once again began to start up a hushed conversation as he turned, raising his suspicions. He rounded the house and got to work, picking up the axe laid against the home’s red wall. As promised, three large piles of dozens of trees laid around the back. After a quick count, he found each pile had fifty trees in them.   
He started on the first tree by taking off its branches, throwing them into their own pile. Then, he would chop the tree into three parts, and split those into four even smaller chunks. He laid those against the side of the house in another separate pile. The work was noticeably harder than only chopping them down, and soon enough, he was drenched with sweat.   
After what seemed like only mere minutes, Sugar Belle was telling him to come eat lunch. While eating, he began to learn more of Granny Smith, the Apple’s parents, and the rest of the Apple family. In return, he told them a bit of his own history. He left out the darkest, most destructive parts, but even with the more refined version, he had them pitying him. He simply turned the topic to what Earth was like. They seemed most interested in aeroplanes and televisions, as in this world, such a thing had been unheard of. It was extremely difficult to hold his tongue about Earth being a different universe entirely, but whenever he slipped up, Applejack would always find a way to cover it up. He noticed that the Element of Harmony never lied, but always redirected the words to have a different tone than usual.  
After the meal -apple butter sandwiches- he got back to work, sweating profusely as the late summer sun bore down on him. The work, as tedious as it was, was relaxing, allowing his thoughts to empty into a warm void of nothingness. It was comfortable, this kind of emptiness that allowed no problems, no strife, to contaminate its gray void. As he worked, with nothing disturbing his rhythm, he found that this was what he needed more than any therapy. In a way, this sort of therapeutic tranquility was the only thing that could take the constant questions off his mind.  
After another short while, he had finished off the first pile, and had begun moving on to the second one, when he found that the sun had reached its setting stage. He set off to find Applejack or Big Mac to tell them he was going, when he nearly tripped over little Apple Bloom. She jumped back at the same time he fell with a surprised curse. As he came up, he saw her blushing at his language, which in turn made him blush at his own crudeness. Mentally, he made a note to break the habit. This wasn’t Earth, so such words were not as acceptable.  
“Sorry fer scarin’ ya so bad, Ray,” Apple Bloom apologized. “I just needed ta ask ya a few questions before you left. Assumin’ that was what ya were doin’.”  
“Yeah, shoot,” he said, earning a grin.  
“Howdya feel about becomin’ a member of th’ Apple family?”  
Ray smiled sadly as he answered, “Now Apple Bloom, that’s sweet and all, but I think that I couldn’t do that. Become a member of your family, I mean”  
“Well, why not,” she asked with a confused look.   
“It just, doesn’t… feel right,” he answered, looking away from the little pony. “I may not be able to go back to them, but I still have a family out there. I can’t just leave them on the third day of being separated with them. It would be… too early.”  
“But wouldn’t yer family wantcha to have somepony to look after ya,” she retorted. “Don’t you want to have somepony to call your family while yer here. It doesn’t hafta be permanent or anything, just until ya get back ta ‘em one day. We could be siblin’s by spirit and not by blood! It’d be better than no family at all, right?”  
Ray’s smile stayed sad as he met her eyes, and before speaking, he knelt down beside her. Searching her hopeful eyes, he found the usual youthful energy and goodwill that had kept him going back in Pittsburg. Come to think of it, she wasn’t too unlike Sammy, maybe older, but just as energetic and happy. It was nice enough that he found himself reaching out and rubbing the top of her head affectionately. “Sure thing, kid.”   
As he answered, three ponies came around the side of the red house, all with wide grins on their faces as they smiled at their new family member. Before he knew it, they had wrapped their front hooves around him in a furry group hug. Ray squeezed them all as tightly as he could without hurting them, tears slipping out of his closed eyes. He would never admit it outloud, but this was really what he needed, what he really wanted. This way, he had a connection here, something to tether him to his own life and purpose. If these four were to be his family, then he would truly be connected to this land, an appendage of an irreplaceable piece of the town. Finally, he was truly an Equestrian, a citizen of this land and inhabitant of one of its towns, a member of one of its families. Except..  
“Don’t we need to do some paperwork or something,” he asked into somepony’s mane. That somepony turned out to be Applejack as she answered, “Yup, but that can wait for later. Right now, let’s just stay like this.”   
He mumbled his agreement as he felt Apple Bloom nuzzle in closer to his stomach… He gasped as her nose met a familiar patch of scarred skin, drawing back breathlessly as he pressed his hand against the burning spot. The four ponies gave him confused looks at his sudden movement. No, three ponies. Applejack seemed to know exactly what was going on in his head, where her sister had touched him.  
“Now what was that all about,” Big Mac asked with a slightly suspicious tone.   
Using a lie he had already trained for in his past life, he answered, “That just… tickled.”  
Instantly, suspicion turned to mischief as Apple Bloom launched herself onto his neck. She rubbed her hoof over his sensitive neck, the longer bits of her fur brushing his neck in a way not too unlike a feather. He laughed involuntarily, the nerves in his neck crying out as they were assaulted with fur and keratin. The smooth substance seemed to be made for such things, as it made his skin want to jerk off his neck.   
He shot his hands back at the little filly, tickling around her neck and under her chin. This seemed to have no effect, so he pulled out his cheat card, catching her behind her ears. The effect was immediate, her breath catching as he rubbed the sensitive spot. Her efforts were lost as she sank into his hand, eyes going lidded with the rubbing, a soft nicker escaping her mouth. She pulled back in surprise, disdain in her eye at the unusual sound he had pulled from her lips.  
“Now that ain’t one bit fair,” she complained. Despite her disdain, there was still a fair amount of mischief in her eye. Instead of responding, Ray simply grinned and stood. Looking around at the four equines, he realized they adults were sharing smiles with each other. His smile fell as a new thought came to his mind.   
They’re my responsibility now. If the minotaurs get through, it’ll be my fault they died. I’ll have caused the death of my own family.  
His eyebrows fell into an involuntary glare at the thought, clenching his fists to keep himself from biting down his lip. Unfortunately, the gesture was noticed by everypony. Eyebrows quirked up in confusion at his new demeanor, and Sugar Belle asked, “What’s wrong now?”  
Thinking quickly, he blurted out, “I need to use the outhouse.”  
Applejack immediately began to laugh, and soon enough the other two girls had joined in, hooting with laughter. Big Mac simply snorted in amusement, pointing at the outhouse less than twenty feet away.   
“There’s always that for use,” he commented. “We try to be civil ‘round these parts.”  
“Nah,” Ray said, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. “I need to go home anyways, and this’ll only speed up the process.” He waved his goodbye and took off running without any second thoughts.   
As he raced through the orchard, his thoughts stayed constricted around the previous ten minute’s events. He was now (unofficially) a member of the Apple Family. On the paper, it didn’t sound bad, but the fine print told him otherwise. If he were to fail in protecting Equestria, his new family’s blood would now be on his hands, as well as on his heart. Worse, however, was the fact that he would now be missed if indeed he did die on the battlefield.   
In his head, he had always imagined letting himself die when victory was assured. Now, with connections in his life, living was now added onto the impossible list of things to do. He mentally slapped himself for allowing his feelings to cloud his judgement. Even though becoming a member of one of the families in Equestria was benefiting for a moment, when war came, it would be a liability. Or maybe not. He had a solid foundation now, something he had to fight for with more vigor and violence.  
He sped up, as the call for nature became realer than the fib he’d told the Apple’s. He ignored anything else as he ran, his head racing through all that had happened today. So much, but also so little. In spite of being… “adopted”... the actual term for his situation was unknown to him, he had spent most of the day working. The thought was almost funny. He had expected a normal today? Of course not! Where did he think he was, back on Earth?   
Rushing down a hill, and then back up, he found he was being tailed by something. It was a brief moment, but in the corner of his eye, he saw something white and pink colored flash in a small bush along the side of the road. He grimaced at it, picking up his pace to his fastest, dashing past the guilty bush, silently praying something wouldn’t just randomly reach out and grab him. Instead, he felt himself stop completely, entrapped in a sparkly golden aura. The bush rustled as something stepped out of its hiding spot.  
It was another pony, this one chest high, with a clean white coat. It took Ray a moment to see both the wings on its back and horn on its head, signifying it was an alicorn. It was also a she, based on its sleek figure and curled eyebrows. Her mane and tail were interesting, floating and gently flowing through the air like waving sparkly flags of sea green, lime, blueberry, and pink. Despite being held hostage by the alicorn, he felt no fear towards her. She was studying him with an inquisitive gaze, her bubble gum pink eyes seeming to stare deeper than his skin.   
Another rustle came from behind as a more concealed figure left their hiding spot to get a better view of him. From the wavey night sky hair and deep lapis lazuli coat, he could tell that it was the mare from his nightmare last night. His eyes widened as dozens of thoughts raced through his head about what could be happening at the moment, none of them good. He assumed that the radiant pony holding him captive was the Princess of the Night’s sister, as she seemed to be completely comfortable with the arrival of the second alicorn.   
“Do you see it yet, Tia,” the dark Princess asked with concern, her brow scrunched.   
“No,” the alicorn, Tia, responded. “Not yet.”  
“What’s going on here,” a sudden voice asked. Jerking his head towards the source of the question, he recognized the flying form of Fluttershy. She had a confused expression on her face, as if randomly coming across her new friend getting mugged by two demigods was merely a curious spectacle, not an alarming situation. Luna had also turned to the buttercream pegasus, looking none the bit concerned she had been found out.   
“Nothing, dear Fluttershy,” Luna replied. “We just saw something very concerning amongst the memories of Twilight’s chosen champion. My sister and I were simply checking to see exactly what the offending image truly was.”  
“I’m not her champion,” he growled, glaring at the alicorns. “And I don’t want you poking around my head.”  
“Unfortunately, that only strengthens our resolve,” Tia shot back, her closed eyes scrunching. She had shut them at some point, and her head was now leaning in towards his chest. Ray suddenly felt something like a prick inside of his head, and he heard Celestia grunt as she penetrated his mental walls.   
“Now, Princesses, I know it isn’t my place to say so, but, isn’t reading somepony else’s mind a little…” Fluttershy trailed off as Luna stared at her.  
“No, Fluttershy,” she said, “it’s a lot.”  
Fluttershy nodded slowly, landing beside Luna. “It’s not hurting him, is it,” she asked her, looking even more concerned. “And such extreme measures?”  
“Because we believe that this human our dear friend Twilight brought may be more of a danger to Equestria than the vicious beasts he’s to fight,” Luna replied curtly.   
“Now that’s just not true,” Fluttershy responded, giving the two alicorns a glare. “Ray would never hurt anypony!”  
A sudden gasp from Tia broke off any retort from Luna. All three looked at her in confusion as her face contorted into various expressions, none of them testifying in Ray’s favor. Scrunching his eyes closed, he tried to focus on any irregularity in his mind. Instantly, he found what felt like a tiny stone in the center of his head. Something about the sensation sent Ray into a panicked frenzy. Reaching deep inside his own mind, he imagined a hand reaching out to grab the stone and throw it as hard as he could. Before he could finish the vision, however, the stone vanished, along with the feeling of being held.  
Ray lurched forward as the magical barrier that had held him disappeared, the sparkly gold fading instantaneously. The alicorn stumbled back a couple of steps, and despite her offsettled nature, she held his gaze with an iron determination. There were tears in them, and he knew exactly what she had seen in the depths of his mind. It was beyond him why she wasn’t impaling him with her horn at the moment with the knowledge she now held. Then again, ponies were generally strange creatures.   
Instead, she bowed to him, eyes to the ground as she apologized. “I’m sorry for this,” Tia said, turning to her sister. “Come on, Luna. It’s not as you feared. Quite the opposite.” Looking back at Ray over her shoulder, she continued. “I’m sorry for what happened to you. I will tell nopony else but my sister about those events.”  
Ray tried to not let his anger show, instead opting to kill them into stone faced submission. He watched as the two alicorns disappeared in a flash of gold and purple. Turning, he found Fluttershy floating in front of his face. Her hooves were crossed in front of her, one of her eyebrows raised in a questioning matter, face flat.   
“There’s something we should talk about,” Ray stated, turning to his house and walking up the path.


End file.
